Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has held talks with former Cuban
President Fidel Castro in Havana for what Cuba's state-run media have
described as an "animated and warm" meeting. No photos or videos of
the meeting were made public.
The Communist Party newspaper, Granma, reported Tuesday that Mr. Chavez and Mr. Castro met for three
hours Monday to discuss the world's food, energy and financial crises.
Mr. Chavez last traveled to Cuba in March.
President Chavez
said Monday that Mr. Castro is "alive and well, thinking, writing and
dictating important strategies for Cuba and Latin America. Mr. Chavez
also was quoted by the French news agency as saying Mr. Castro's
younger brother, Raul Castro, is "at the helm" of the Cuban revolution.
Raul
Castro replaced Fidel Castro as president in February, more than a
year and a half after the elder Castro underwent intestinal surgery.
Fidel Castro has not been seen in public since then.
The former
Cuban leader, however, has appeared in videos and photographs, and
articles attributed to him have been published in state-run media.
Details of his health are considered a state secret.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
