Caracas,
Sunday
January 13,2013

HAVANA – Cuban President Raul Castro met with Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro upon his arrival on the island to see Hugo Chavez, still convalescing in Havana following his fourth operation for cancer, local media said.

Gen. Castro assured Maduro about “the solidarity of the Cuban people with the Bolivarian Revolution and its leader (Chavez) under the present circumstances,” and said he was certain of “the capability of the Venezuelan people and its institutions to face and overcome any challenges,” the article published in the official dailies Granma and Juventud Rebelde said.

Also present at the meeting were Venezuela’s minister of science and technology and Chavez son-in-law, Jorge Arreaza, Venezuelan Attorney General Cilia Flores, members of the Venezuelan president’s family and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez.

The Cuban newspapers also reported Saturday on the talks Argentine President Cristina Fernandez had Friday with Raul Castro and his brother and ex-president Fidel, and published photos of their meeting.