Chavez makes first Cuba visit since Raul Castro became president
1:10 AM
Posted: Sunday, March 09, 2008
HAVANA (AP) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Saturday made his first visit to Cuba since the presidency passed from Fidel Castro to his younger brother Raul, bringing along the mother of French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt -- the highest-profile hostage held by Colombian rebels.
State television showed President Raul Castro greeting Chavez when he arrived in Havana on Friday night with Betancourt's mother, Yolanda Pulecio, and Colombian Sen. Piedad Cordova.
Both women have conducted an international campaign for the release of Betancourt, who is held by the Armed Revolutionary Forces of Colombia, the rebel group known as the FARC.
Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque told reporters that Chavez had met with Raul Castro. But he did not mention that the women had accompanied the Venezuelan president to Cuba and it was unclear if they were at the meeting.
Cuba and Venezuela are key political and economic allies and Chavez is a close friend of the ailing 81-year-old Fidel.
Chavez made the unannounced visit on his way home from a summit in the Dominican Republic, where he and the presidents of Colombia and Ecuador agreed to end a bitter dispute over a Colombian cross-border raid on rebels in Ecuadorean territory.
Before the dispute ended, Chavez on Friday invited Pulecio into the gathering of Latin American presidentsand urged Colombian President Alvaro Uribe to allow a multinational group into Colombia to get out some of the FARC's hostages. Uribe rejected the idea.
The Cuban government did not release an agenda of Chavez's visit and state media carried no other details. Chavez was accompanied by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro.
Chavez has visited Fidel Castro several times since he stepped aside provisionally in mid-2006 after undergoing emergency intestinal surgery. Fidel permanently resigned from the presidency on Feb. 19, and Cuba's parliament elected his 76-year-old brother Raul to replace him on Feb. 24.
Raul Castro's government has remained silent on the dispute between the three Andean countries that began when Colombia carried out a March 1 commando raid across the border in Ecuador that killed 25 people including a senior commander of the FARC, Colombia's largest rebel group.
Fidel Castro welcomed the resolution of the dispute reached at the summit, saying in a Friday statement that the only loser was U.S. "imperialism."
Noting that no U.S. diplomats were present at the gathering, Castro wrote that "peace was immediately sealed, along with the knowledge that we are not obligated to wage war among nations that share solid ties of brotherhood."
State television showed President Raul Castro greeting Chavez when he arrived in Havana on Friday night with Betancourt's mother, Yolanda Pulecio, and Colombian Sen. Piedad Cordova.
Both women have conducted an international campaign for the release of Betancourt, who is held by the Armed Revolutionary Forces of Colombia, the rebel group known as the FARC.
Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque told reporters that Chavez had met with Raul Castro. But he did not mention that the women had accompanied the Venezuelan president to Cuba and it was unclear if they were at the meeting.
Cuba and Venezuela are key political and economic allies and Chavez is a close friend of the ailing 81-year-old Fidel.
Chavez made the unannounced visit on his way home from a summit in the Dominican Republic, where he and the presidents of Colombia and Ecuador agreed to end a bitter dispute over a Colombian cross-border raid on rebels in Ecuadorean territory.
Before the dispute ended, Chavez on Friday invited Pulecio into the gathering of Latin American presidentsand urged Colombian President Alvaro Uribe to allow a multinational group into Colombia to get out some of the FARC's hostages. Uribe rejected the idea.
The Cuban government did not release an agenda of Chavez's visit and state media carried no other details. Chavez was accompanied by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro.
Chavez has visited Fidel Castro several times since he stepped aside provisionally in mid-2006 after undergoing emergency intestinal surgery. Fidel permanently resigned from the presidency on Feb. 19, and Cuba's parliament elected his 76-year-old brother Raul to replace him on Feb. 24.
Raul Castro's government has remained silent on the dispute between the three Andean countries that began when Colombia carried out a March 1 commando raid across the border in Ecuador that killed 25 people including a senior commander of the FARC, Colombia's largest rebel group.
Fidel Castro welcomed the resolution of the dispute reached at the summit, saying in a Friday statement that the only loser was U.S. "imperialism."
Noting that no U.S. diplomats were present at the gathering, Castro wrote that "peace was immediately sealed, along with the knowledge that we are not obligated to wage war among nations that share solid ties of brotherhood."
Story Comments
Read More and Post Comments 0 comment(s)
Please note: The following are comments from readers. In no way do they represent the views of The Sioux City Journal or Lee Enterprises. We will not edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to not post or to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. No comment may contain potentially libelous statements; obscene, explicit or racist language; personal attacks, insults or threats. Terms of Service
