Caracas (Venezuela), Apr. 18 : Raul Castro, the brother of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and de facto leader of the island nation 90 miles south of Florida, has admitted that his country may have been wrong in not engaging with the United States.

Speaking at a meeting of leftist leaders heading to the 34-nation summit here eager to represent Cuba''s interests. He said his country''s previous refusal to engage the U. S. earlier might have been a mistake.

Caracas (Venezuela), Apr. 18 : Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has said that he would like to be good friends with US President Barack Obama, suggesting possibilities of an iminent thaw in hostile relations between the two countries.

According to Fox News, Chavez said: "I'd like to be your friend," while Obama reportedly expressed his thanks, though this couldn''''''''t immediately be confirmed.

Photos released by the Venezuelan government show Obama clasping Chavez''''''''s hand and smiling broadly.

Caracas  - Venezuelan opposition leader Manuel Rosales has gone into hiding and will not turn himself in to the authorities on embezzlement charges, because he thinks he is being prosecuted for political reasons, his party said Tuesday.

Rosales planned to hold on to his position as mayor of the city of Maracaibo and would not leave the country, as he awaits guarantees of a fair trial, said Omar Barboza, a spokesman for Rosales' party Un Nuevo Tiempo (UNT).

Caracas  - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Monday congratulated fellow-leftist Mauricio Funes for his historic win a day earlier in El Salvador's presidential election.

In a statement issued by the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry, Chavez described the electoral victory as "unobjectionable and resounding," and offered Funes his assistance.

The result "consolidates the historic current that has risen across Latin America and the Caribbean in this first decade of the 21st century," Chavez said, noting the region's swing to the left.

Caracas  - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday denied having offered a Venezuelan island in the Caribbean as a base for the Russian Air Force.

A senior officer of the Russian Air Force said Saturday that the force was considering temporarily basing long-range bombers on Cuba or in Venezuela.

Cuba alone had four or five suitable bases, and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez had offered a base on La Orchila island, Major- General Anatoly Shikharev was quoted as saying.

Caracas (Venezuela), Mar.