Castro visits Venezuela on 1st trip abroad as prez

Raul Castro began his first foreign trip as Cuba's president in Venezuela on Saturday, a symbolic destination aimed at strengthening ties with the island's socialist ally and main benefactor.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez - a longtime ally of Fidel Castro who says he is building "21st century socialism" in his oil-rich South American nation - told the Cuban president: "I say that Fidel is my father and Raul is my uncle."

The leaders agreed to cooperate on 173 joint projects worth more than $2 billion in areas including energy and communications - deepening an entrenched relationship that has irritated officials in Washington.

"We didn't come to this brother country to receive honors," said the 77-year-old Castro, adding that Latin American relations have changed dramatically since Chavez and Fidel first signed a cooperation agreement eight years ago. "But to give tribute to a people who have stuck with Cuba through a very difficult moment."

Castro replaced his 82-year-old brother Fidel as Cuba's president in February. He offered Chavez and the Venezuelan people "a hug" from Fidel, who has not been seen in public since undergoing emergency intestinal surgery in July 2006.

"There is a revolution on this continent, Raul," Chavez said, apparently referring to a wave of leftist governments elected in Latin America.

Chavez presented Castro with a gold-plated replica of a sword that once belonged Bolivar. The Cuban leader, in turn, gave Chavez a photograph taken of him during his years as a guerrilla commander.

Raul Castro's visit to Cuba's main leftist ally in the region comes shortly after he offered to meet with U.S. President-elect Barack Obama.

Referring to Obama, Chavez urged the next U.S. president to extradite Cuban militant Luis Posada Carriles to Venezuela to face trial for his alleged role in the 1976 bombing of a Cuban passenger plane that killed 73 people.

Posada, a longtime opponent of the Castro brothers, was accused of entering the U.S. illegally and was detained in 2005. The former CIA operative has since been released. Cuba and Venezuela claim Posada masterminded the bombing from Caracas.

Chavez also said he hopes Obama will make good on his promise to close Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba after taking office on Jan. 20.

Earlier Saturday, Chavez greeted Castro at an airport outside Caracas where marines dressed in white uniforms stood in formation under a bright Caribbean sun.

"I bring a salute, a hug for all Venezuelans from the Cuban people and from the leader of the revolution, comrade Fidel Castro," Raul said.

The choice of Venezuela as Castro's first foreign trip reflects Cuba's reliance on the backing of the South American nation, which is the fifth largest exporter of oil to the United States.

Venezuela sells Cuba about 90,000 barrels of crude oil per day on preferential terms, and hopes to increase shipments to 150,000 barrels per day by 2013.

While analysts speculate plunging oil prices may be generating worries in Havana about Venezuela's ability to continue sending subsidized oil, the two countries signed an agreement to expand Cuba's refineries, aiming to increase output at the Cienfuegos refinery from 65,000 to 150,000 barrels per day.

Cuba and Venezuela have already agreed to invest nearly $1.4 billion in joint projects this year, in addition to some $2.3 billion approved in 2006 and 2007, Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said Friday. Projects cover areas such as oil, health, education and agriculture.

The Cuban government, meanwhile, has sent Venezuela 30,000 Cuban doctors and nurses, as well as thousands of sports trainers and agricultural technicians - many of whom work in Chavez's social programs known as "missions."

Earlier, Chavez and Castro laid flowers at a statue of South American independence hero Simon Bolivar in the capital's center and visited Bolivar's tomb.

The vice president of Cuba's Cabinet, Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz, said cooperation between the two nations is even more important considering the world financial meltdown.

"The crisis generated by the capitalist system ... obliges our countries to make a sustained effort to advance," he said.

It was not clear exactly how long Castro planned to stay in Venezuela.

Castro was expected to head next to an integration summit of Latin American and Caribbean countries to be held in Brazil starting Tuesday.

Brazil, governed by center-left President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has recently expanded ties with Cuba.

In late October, state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA signed an agreement to explore for oil in deep Caribbean waters north of Cuba that officials in Havana say could contain 20 billion barrels of crude.

Brazil is Cuba's second-largest Latin American trading partner, behind Venezuela. Brazil-Cuba trade generated $483 million through September, already surpassing $450 million for all of 2007, according to official figures.