​Maduro backs reconstruction of Cuban supertanker port in Matanzas

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro vowed to help Cuba rebuild its only supertanker port in Matanzas, which was partially destroyed by a fire caused by lightning striking one of its crude tanks a week ago.

Cuba has long reckoned on the 2.4 million-barrel Matanzas terminal, about 130 kilometers from Havana, for most crude and heavy fuel oil imports and storage.

In a speech honoring the Venezuelan firefighters dispatched to fight the fire, Maduro directed Venezuela's oil minister and the president of state-owned PDVSA to contact the relevant Cuban authorities "to begin the design of the reconstruction of the supertanker yard."

Mexico also dispatched personnel to extinguish the fire.

"We are going to design where it will be built, where the loading yard will be, and begin the construction," Maduro said.

Despite tightening unilateral US sanctions on both countries, Venezuela shares mutually complementary relations with Cuba, providing much-needed support to Havana, most notably during times of crises.