Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was in Cuba on Saturday, paying a surprise visit to the island after a major poll win last Sunday.

It is the Venezuelan leader's first trip abroad since winning a referendum on February 15 that removed term limits on his presidency.

Standing arm-in-arm with Chavez on his arrival late Friday, Cuban President Raul Castro raised the Venezuelan leader's fist in victory, declaring "I do this in Fidel's name" — a reference to his brother, a long-time friend of Chavez.

Chavez, sporting a red beret and olive suit responded to the crowd's adulation with his own cries of "Viva Fidel! Viva Cuba! Viva Raul!"

The visit is the latest in a series of exchanges between the two leftist countries, which have developed closer ties since Chavez took power ten years ago, and which have frequently sparred with the west.

Last December, Raul Castro visited Caracas in his first visit abroad since taking over in July 2006 from Fidel, who stepped aside due to medical problems.

Chavez said his first congratulatory message after last Sunday's win, which gave him the power to run for a third term in 2012, came from Fidel Castro.

Venezuela is Cuba's largest trading partner, supplying 92 000 barrels of oil a day to the cash-strapped island.

AFP