Mexico City, Nov. 1 (Xinhua-ANI): The governments of Venezuela and Bolivia on Wednesday pledged to send humanitarian aid to countries affected by superstorm Sandy.
Venezuela will send 93 tons of non-perishable food to Cuba and Haiti, the Interior Ministry said on its website.
Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said the government has decided to establish "air bridges," or air shuttles, over a period of seven days to send humanitarian aid to Cuba and Haiti.
A DC-10 airplane would be used to transport humanitarian aid to Cuba's Santiago de Cuba, the province hardest hit by the megastorm, and another airplane from the Bolivarian Military Aviation will be used to ship aid to Haiti, Reverol said.
The country has already sent 533 tons of aid materials to storm victims in Havana and Port-au-Prince.
The minister also expressed his solidarity with the storm-affected countries. "We are sure the people of Haiti and Cuba, as well as other peoples who have suffered, will successfully overcome the crisis," he said.
Meanwhile, Bolivia's government also approved 120 tons of humanitarian aid to Cuba on Wednesday.
"Within the framework of reciprocity and solidarity, the government has approved a supreme decree to donate 120 tons of food to Cuba," Bolivian Defense Minister Ruben Saavedra told a press conference.
The Bolivian government said it hopes the aid could help alleviate food shortages in Cuba, especially its hardest-hit eastern region.
It also expressed solidarity with other countries affected by the storm, including Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas and the United States, Saavedra said.
The massive storm claimed at least 11 lives and caused property losses amounting to more than 2 billion U.S. dollars in Cuba.
It also affected some 200,000 people in Haiti, killing at least 54 and leaving 20 others missing and another 20 injured.
The Haitian government on Wednesday announced a nation-wide state of emergency, which will last for one month. (Xinhua-ANI)
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