MIAMI, United States. – Orlando Miguel Maneiro, admiral of the Bolivarian Navy, was unanimously appointed by the National Assembly of the Venezuelan regime to replace Adán Chávez Frías, brother of the deceased Hugo Chavezas ambassador to Cuba, reported this Friday the news agency EFE.
The change in the diplomatic leadership was announced in a regular session of the Chavista Parliament after the review of a report by the Foreign Policy Commission.
Maneiro has held a variety of roles in the military and government sphere: he was Minister of the Presidency and of Education under the Hugo Chávez administration, and Minister of Culture under the Maduro regime. Likewise, he has served as Commander General of the Bolivarian Navy, Military Attaché in Mexico, and Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture between 2017 and 2018.
According to EFE, Deputy Edgardo Ramírez celebrated Maneiro’s appointment and stated: “This man from our National Armed Forces will be present in Cuba assuming responsibility as ambassador and (…) this responsibility is in good hands. We are talking about a comrade who knows how to assume his commitments in favor of the homeland ”.
According to Ramírez, in his appearance before the Foreign Policy Commission, Maneiro expressed his commitment to “strengthen relations with the diplomatic corps of the group of Latin American and Caribbean countries,” as well as to supervise the agreements between the regimes of Venezuela and Cuba in different areas.
Both dictatorships have maintained a solid alliance both politically and economically since Hugo Chávez came to power. Since 2000, Venezuela has been the main supplier of oil to the Island, in exchange for medical services that have been described by international organizations as a form of “modern slavery.”
