Raúl Castro visits Chávez in Venezuela on first foreign trip
CARACAS - President Raúl Castro of Cuba launched his first international trip in Venezuela yesterday, visiting with his country's longtime ally and benefactor, President Hugo Chávez, before he heads to a regional summit in Brazil.
"I bring a greeting and an embrace from the Cuban people and from the head of the revolution - from Fidel Castro," Raúl Castro said on his arrival at the airport outside Caracas.
"Your visit is an honor for us," Chávez replied as he hugged Castro. "In welcoming you, we welcome Fidel and the Cuban people."
A Navy honor guard in white uniforms stood in formation for the red carpet ceremony, which included an artillery salute and national anthems.
Castro and Chávez laid flowers at the Caracas monument to Simón Bolívar, Chávez's 19th-century hero who fought to eject Spain from Latin America, and then visited Bolívar's tomb.
Later, the leaders met at the presidential palace to wrap up negotiations on 311 cooperation projects in areas such as health, education, and agriculture, Venezuela's state-run Bolivarian News Agency reported.
The two men share antipathy to capitalism and the Bush administration, but are unlikely to become as close as Chávez is to Fidel Castro, who this year gave up the presidency of the communist-run island because of illness.
Raúl Castro, 77, worked in the shadow of his 82-year-old brother for decades and is now seeking to boost his credentials as a statesman, as well as his country's trade, on visits to Venezuela and Brazil.
Analysts said Castro is sending the message that the two countries will maintain strong ties even as a 73 percent plunge in the price of Venezuelan oil exports since July diminishes Chávez's ability to maintain aid to Cuba.
By exchanging inexpensive oil for doctors working in Venezuelan slums, Chávez has helped Cuba recover from the shock of the collapse of the Soviet Union, which had propped up the island's economy in the face of a US embargo.
But with Venezuela's oil income plunging and signs that Chávez's support may be eroding after a decade in power, Cuba is trying to diversify its foreign support.
Since taking office in February, Raúl Castro has bolstered ties with Russia and China and is now seeking to take advantage of Brazil's stated goal of boosting Cuban trade, especially in its nascent oil industry. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil has expressed an interest in stronger ties with Cuba and the United States.
Venezuela sells Cuba about 90,000 barrels of crude oil per day at subsidized rates. The two countries also are pursuing other oil industry cooperation.
A Cuban delegation spent Friday hashing out plans for a joint refinery and the development of offshore fields that Havana hopes can boost its economy, which this year was damaged by hurricanes.
At the airport yesterday, Chávez, 54, strode up to Raúl Castro and put his arm around his shoulders. The men embraced briefly, but it was little like the effusive bear hugs Chávez and Fidel Castro typically shared.
The chemistry between Fidel Castro and Chávez has been apparent for years. In public, they were frequently seen laughing together, hugging, and engaging in intense philosophical debates.
Chávez, a socialist, rarely makes a speech without praising Fidel Castro's communist revolution. He calls Castro his mentor and father and says his lobbying during a brief coup helped restore him to the Venezuelan presidency in 2002.
While Raúl Castro calls the Venezuelan his "nephew," he generally projects a stern-faced image alongside Chávez.
Most Venezuelans reject any moves to turn their consumer society into a state like Cuba. The opposition says that Cuba is a dictatorship and that Chávez wants to emulate his mentor by imposing his rule for decades and making Venezuela a symbol of antagonism with the United States.
Chávez and Raúl Castro lambaste President Bush, but they have adopted a conciliatory tone with President-elect Barack Obama, saying they hope he promotes a thaw in relations.
In Washington last week, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez called on the world to "remember the plight of the Cuban people, who live under a totalitarian dictatorship that has denied them human rights for almost half a century." 