Honors and outcry as Castro set to visit Venezuela

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) -- Cuban President Fidel Castro stands to boost his diplomatic credibility while being feted as a revolutionary on a five-day trip to Venezuela that begins on Thursday, analysts said.

The trip will be the Communist leader's first state visit to the oil-producing country in 40 years, and, according to analysts, marks an important moment in Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's bid to expand his influence in region.

The 38-year U.S. economic embargo against Cuba is a unifying theme for the visit, which has sparked outcry from Chavez's opponents who have called for protests.

On Monday, Castro and Chavez will sign a bilateral agreement for Venezuela to provide Cuba with cheap oil designed to help alleviate the island's chronic fuel shortage.

Chavez has made it a moral issue to oppose the embargo, but "giving oxygen to Cuba" may weaken ties with the United States, Venezuela's largest market for oil, said political analyst Vilma Petrash.

But Foreign Minister Jose Vicente Rangel dismissed such fears. He accused opposition politicians of living in the past, noting that "when the United States has practically lifted its trade embargo, there are still some people here who have the embargo mentality."

The United States still maintains the embargo on Cuba even though the Senate approved an easing of sanctions last week to allow U.S. companies to export food and medicine.

Internationalists have said Cuba has more to gain from the visit than Venezuela. Castro, who has reemerged on the world stage in recent years, stands to boost his diplomatic credibility from his warm relationship with Chavez.

But Chavez also has a large stake in the visit. The former paratrooper and failed coup leader plans to enhance his revolutionary credentials by promoting Castro as well as bolster his attempt to become a regional leader, political analyst Fausto Masso said.

Comparing Venezuelan 19th-century independence hero Simon Bolivar with the apostle of Cuban independence Jose Marti, Chavez said both nations have promoted freedom in the region.

"Long live Marti, long live Bolivar, long live Cuba, long live Venezuela, and long live Castro," an exuberant Chavez said on Wednesday in describing Castro as "an example of dignity, courage and bravery."

Chavez, who is overwhelmingly popular among the poor majority of Venezuelans after taking office 20 months ago, has said reaching out to Cuba is part of a drive toward Latin American integration.

"He wants to show to Venezuela and the region that his relation with the (Cuban) regime is strong and that it will stand the test of time," said Petrash.

Chavez, who has also met with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and Libya's Moammar Gadhafi, has insisted that Venezuela may have diplomatic contact with any country it chooses.

But the outreach to Castro has triggered alarm among opposition politicians, who have slammed Cuba's authoritarian regime and record on civil rights.

Former presidential candidate Francisco Arias has called on Venezuelans to beat pots and pans in protest at Castro's arrival -- a traditional Latin American form of dissent. The demonstration has the backing of opposition political parties.

Chavez has asked Venezuelans to recognize the historic nature of the visit.

Venezuela was one of the first nations which Castro visited in the days after he swept to power in a popular revolution in 1959, but he has returned only four times since then on minor trips.

Chavez enjoys a warm personal relationship with the Cuban leader. The two are due to play baseball on Sunday and Castro also will visit the prison cell where Chavez spent two years following a failed 1992 coup.

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