By Pam Wright
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Get while the getting’s good.
That’s what Michael Bondy and his son Tom did recently while on a missionary trip to Cuba. On the second day of their visit, the United States invaded Venezuela and captured its president – an action sparking political instability across the Caribbean.
All signs pointed to the father and son leaving Cuba as soon as possible, Bondy said, adding he knew it was time to “get out of Dodge.
“I didn’t know if we would be able to fly out and it was a risk I was not willing to take,” Bondy said. “Cuba has nothing…I was worried they would run out of jet fuel and I thought we better get home right now.”
The Chatham councillor ended up buying new tickets and the pair flew out four days prior to their scheduled departure Jan. 7.
Working with Shrewsbury Baits owner Mark Lucio, who has a long history of humanitarian work in Cuba, Bondy and his 23-year-old son brought four large hockey bags of supplies, including shoes and school supplies, to help those in need. This also included items for working horses donated by T.J. Stables, as horses are widely used for farming and transportation across the country.
Originally, the Bondys flew into Cienfuegos on the south side of the island and booked into an all-inclusive resort. But they found conditions to be questionable as there was no bread and little food available in the poverty-stricken nation.
Bondy said he lost 10 pounds on the trip, surviving on pineapples, rice and peas.
Given the instability of the situation, father and son decided to move on to a hotel in Varadero in order to be close to the main airport in Havana.
But at the second resort, they encountered more of the same, Bondy said, as the place was essentially deserted.
“There was nobody there,” he added, noting he did however see one altercation between two Cuban men who were arguing over bread.
There was also the added concern of running out of money as ATMs were not working; credit cards were useless, and Bondy only had enough cash for three days.
The link between Venezuela and Cuba is direct. It’s estimated that Cuba receives about 35,000 barrels of oil a day from the South American country. None of the island’s other main energy partners, including Russia and Mexico, even come close.
As of press time it remained unclear how the Venezuelan takeover will impact Cuba going forward.
