Both Granma and El Nuevo Herald (but oddly, not yet Venezuela’s El Universal newspaper) have revealed that Hugo Chávez arrived last night in Havana on an “unexpected” visit. The agenda for his visit has not been announced, but he is accompanied by Venezuela’s Secretary of Oil and Energy—the President of Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), the state oil company—and the Vice President of PDVSA, which may be an indication of his intended subject for discussion.
Chavez is the sixth Latin American president to visit Cuba in 2009, a list that includes Martín Torrijos of Panama, Álvaro Colom of Guatemala, Rafael Correa of Ecuador, Cristina Kirchner of Argentina, and Michele Bachelet of Chile. Fidel met with only two of these (Kirchner and Bachelet), but will likely receive his close friend Hugo, even on this surprise visit.
