Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Imperial Prosperity Update 2

I heard a story on NPR this morning about Cuban doctors defecting from their assignments in Venezeula, ultimately hoping to find assylum in the U.S. It's an interesting case.

Venezuela reached a diplomatic agreement with Cuba wherein Venezeula provides oil to Cuba and in exchange Cuba assigns doctors to work in Venezuela. The doctors are providing free health care to the poor in Venezuela. The U.S., seeking to close this gap in its economic stranglehold on Cuba, has adopted a policy specifically aimed at getting Cuban medical professionals to defect.

There's a little ambiguity here. One can argue that if the Cuban doctors want freedom, it's good that America can provide it, whatever our ulterior motives may be. On the other hand, it is absolutely clear who the victims are in this case: the poor in Venezuela, who suffer as a result of America's political goals.

1 comment:

John, an unlikely pastor said...

Just finishing a great read called Confessions of an Economic Hitman. It's clear that the evolution of the global economic empire has had many casualties already and will have many more.

It's enough to get me wondering about the mission of the church in a world that is run out of greed above all else.