The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is situated on the northern coast of South America. Home to an estimated population of 29.1 million, it covers around 916,445 square kilometres which includes the Andes mountains and the Amazon Basin Rainforest. Its main export is oil. Venezuela was colonized by Spain in 1522 but continued resistance led in 1811 to it becoming the first Spanish American country to declare independence. A chequered political history followed which saw dictatorships rise and fall, as well as military coups.
Cuban authorities were still struggling Monday to contain a raging fire at an oil storage facility at the port of Matanzas, after new explosions spread the flames to other oil tanks, raising questions about the country’s disaster preparedness and its ongoing energy crisis.
Officials say firefighters and other specialists are still trying to quell the blaze at the Matanzas Supertanker Base, where the fire began during a storm Friday.
Cuba on Saturday asked for help to contain a massive fire at a fuel depot that has left at least one person dead, 121 people injured and 17 firefighters missing.
About 1,900 people have been evacuated from the affected area, said officials from the western Matanzas Province, where lightning struck a fuel tank late on Friday, triggering an explosion.
Provincial health official Luis Armando Wong told a news conference on Saturday evening that a first body had been recovered at the site.
Five people were critically injured, the Cuban presidency wrote on Twitter, with three others in a very serious condition in