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CUBA
NEWS
The
Miami Herald
Trinidad prime minister visits Cuba
for medical checkup
Associated Press. Posted
on Wed, Aug. 04, 2004.
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad - Trinidad's prime
minister left for Cuba Wednesday for a medical
checkup related to heart surgery he underwent
six years ago, officials said.
Prime Minister Patrick Manning had valve
replacement surgery in 1998 in Havana to
repair damage that resulted from rheumatic
fever. He was opposition leader at the time.
Manning will return to Trinidad Saturday.
Manning spokesman Alfred Aguiton said he
may meet briefly with Cuban President Fidel
Castro while there, but he had no details.
Manning chose to have the operation in
Cuba partly to avoid questions of blame
that could arise if something were to go
wrong during an operation in Trinidad, Aguiton
said. Trinidad's doctors union has often
been at odds with Manning's government,
striking twice last year.
Manning, 57 and who also served as prime
minister from 1991-1995, has praised Cuba's
health system and sought assistance from
the Cuban government on health issues. Last
year, that two countries agreed to allow
80 doctors and nurses from Cuba to work
in Trinidad for three years.
Trinidad and Tobago, a two-island nation
of 1.3 million residents, faces a shortage
of hundreds of doctors and nurses. The United
Nations has also provided the country with
100 doctors from a wide range of countries
who will work for three years, as well.
Minister of Culture Joan Yuille-Williams
will be acting prime minister while Manning
is away.
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