Raúl Castro traveled to Venezuela on Saturday to pay tribute to his former ally Hugo Chávez. on the tenth anniversary of his death, official agency Prensa Latina reported.
At Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía, La Guaira State, Sectoral Vice President for Science, Technology, Education and Health, Gabriela Jiménez, welcomed the Cuban delegation. The island’s delegation consists of Ramiro Valdés, a historian of the regime; the Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero; and Ministers Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla (Foreign), José Ángel Portal Miranda (Public Health) and Vicente de la O Levy (Energy and Mining). Josefina Vidal Ferreiro, Deputy Minister for Foreign Relations, and Roberto López, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Trade also traveled to Venezuela.
Another historic ally of Caracas and Havana who has traveled to Venezuela is former President of Bolivia Evo Morales. Also, Xiomara Castro de Zelaya, President of Honduras, and her husband Manuel Zelaya, former President of the Central American country, traveled to the South American country. More than a hundred personalities and intellectuals from all continents are expected to attend the commemoration of Hugo Chávez’s death.
According to the agency EFE, in the ten years since the death of Hugo Chávez, the leaders of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) have carried out various activities in different states of the country since Friday. A world convention was convened in a theater in Caracas “Validity of Commander Chávez’s Bolivarian Thoughts in the 21st Century”which includes Chavista leaders and 147 delegates from more than 55 countries.
Regarding these meetings, Nicolás Maduro said On twitter: “What a joy to see the movements of the peoples of our America in the homeland of Bolívar! Welcome and welcome, is an extraordinary way of recognizing the legacy and Bolivarian thinking of Commander Chávez. Long live unity and the struggle of peoples!”
Ramiro Valdés traveled to Venezuela at the beginning of February “to deepen cooperation and to check the progress of the Comprehensive Cooperation Agreement”.. The trip to Caracas by the commander of the revolution and former Cuban interior minister took place in the midst of a Decline in Venezuelan oil exports to the Havana regime. It later emerged that those oil exports to Cuba were 52,320 barrels per day (bpd) in February, a figure higher than January’s 39,775 but below December 2022’s 57,500.
Raúl Castro practically never travels abroad and within the island it can only be seen at a few meetings and events. His visit to Venezuela and the entourage accompanying him would suggest that the regime is aiming for more than attending tributes to Chávez.