Cuba’s flag has remained the same since the early 20th century while Venezuela’s flag has changed over the years as the country has evolved, most recently at Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez’s behest, adding an eighth star and changing the horse in the seal to face leftward. Illustration by Corey Erb

The relationship between Cuba and Venezuela has become increasingly important for many Venezuelan students in South Florida with family still living in their home country.

“Estudiantes por la Democracia,” or Students for Democracy, is an organization made up of Venezuelan students mostly from the University of Miami.  One of its main goals is to bring together the Venezuelan community in South Florida to vote on referenda that can create positive changes in Venezuela.

“I believe the most important issue for our organization is first of all, development of Venezuela as a country, economically, democratically and socially as well,” said Eugenio Lascurain, a member of Estudiantes por la Democracia.

Several of the group’s members are afraid to be identified by name because they consider the group to be fighting against the current Venezuelan government.  Some members fear that they, and family members still living in Venezuela, would face retaliation, said one of the group’s executive board members.

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“The current government does not tolerate someone who disagrees with their ideas and policies, so they take serious and illegal actions against the individuals who oppose them, violating countless human rights,” the board member said, adding that many in their group need to renew their passports soon.  There is a “big chance” that if the Venezuelan government identifies them as dissidents, their renewals would be denied, the board member said.

Estudiantes por la Democracia meets regularly to discuss issues undermining democracy and human rights in their home country.  They believe the relationship between Cuba and Venezuela is degrading Venezuela’s political freedom and worsening its economy.

Cuba provides Venezuela with military support, nurses and medical technicians, which in turn offers social support for Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez’s regime, said Eugenio Yáñez, editor of the think tank Cubanálisis.com.  He believes Venezuela is “fundamental” to the Cuban economy.

“Both countries depend on each other,” Yáñez said.  “Cuba needs desperately Venezuelan oil, and Chávez needs the support of Cuban intelligence and social workers.”

Yet, Lascurain said such collaboration through programs like “Misión Barrio Adentro,” or Mission Inside the Neighborhood, for instance, is actually hurting Venezuelans.  This program, at the Venezuelan government’s mandate, brings Cuban doctors and nurses to shantytowns in Venezuela to provide cheap medical attention.

“By bringing people from other countries, [the Venezuelan government is] not giving poor Venezuelans space to grow,” Lascurain said.  “In that sense it’s not helping our country economically, or to grow in the long run.”

Casto Ocando, an investigative reporter for El Nuevo Herald, who has covered Cuba-Venezuela relations since 2004, said that government-run medical centers established through this program have suffered from lack of equipment, supplies and security.

“[When Misión Barrio Adentro started], it was considered the best effort engineered by Chavez’s government with Cuban help,” Ocando said.  ”Today, though, that presence has proved to be less and less effective.”

Lascurain said that the program also hurts the quality of Venezuelan health care because the medical professionals Cuba sends are often not trained as well as doctors and nurses educated in Venezuela.

Estudiantes por la Democracia often discusses these programs and people’s perception of them.

Liz Alarcón, a member of the group, said many Venezuelans see only the positive cooperation between these two countries.  She said that positive resources coming into Venezuela from Cuba influence how Venezuelans, who only have access to media controlled by the government, view the negative aspects of Cuba.

Lascurain said a dialogue on Cuba-Venezuela cooperation in South Florida would be important to these communities.  The group has promoted similar forums put on by the University of Miami Center for Hemispheric Policy.  He wants to bring a forum discussing the similarities and differences between the Cuban and Venezuelan populations in South Florida to the area in the near future.