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Venezuela Leader Overshadows Obama in Cuba Media

Photographs of Nicolas Maduro and Fidel Castro were posted Sunday in government newspapers

There's at least one place in Cuba where the visit of U.S. President Barack Obama isn't the center of attention: That's in the country's state-run newspapers.

Cuban media are publishing photographs of retired leader Fidel Castro meeting with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who arrived Friday for a state visit.

Venezuela has been a close ally of Cuba under Maduro and his predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez. The two countries have done billions of dollars' worth in trade, with oil from Venezuela and Cuba sending thousands of doctors, sports trainers and other specialists to the South American nation.

As Cuba awaits a historic visit by U.S. President Barack Obama later Sunday, it's a signal that renewed relations with Washington are not diminishing Havana's support for Venezuela's socialist government.

The photographs of Maduro and Fidel Castro were posted Sunday in government newspapers and on the Cubadebate website, which said the encounter took place the previous day.

They met in the home where Castro typically is pictured receiving foreign dignitaries. He was shown seated in a rolling chair wearing sandals and a track suit and gesturing as he spoke with Maduro. 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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