Fair is fair. The US policy in Colombia comes in for criticism on these pages, so let's check ut what the USS Iwo Jima (click to enlarge that very purdy photo taken of the ship yesterday, it gets very big and purdier) has been doing off the coast of Colombia recently. Here's an excerpt from this report (translated).
Since its arrival (in Colombia) on August 9th, the doctors have attended 4,054 and performed 32 operations, dental check-ups and optical testings amongst other duties, said the ship's captain Thomas Negus.
And all those operations were free of charge to the patients. Now, the fact that Cuban doctors also do this type of free operations all over the continent (hundreds of thousands of people happily served over the years) does not take one iota away from the job the 400 or so medical staff and volunteers on the Iwo Jima (125 doctors I hear, a high percentage) are doing.
The Iwo Jima finished its tour of the Colombian coast yesterday and is due to arrive at its next stop to help people, Costa Rica, tomorrow. Good job, guys.