LatinNews Daily - 19 May 2011

Cuba/Venezuela: On 14 October, Cuba's leader, Fidel Castro made a special appearance on Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez ' television program 'Aló Presidente'. In response, the US government expressed its "regret" at Castro's "reluctance" to talk as openly with his citizens as with Chávez . US State Department's Deputy Spokesman and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Tom Casey said that while he was "very pleased that Fidel Castro finally [after 15 months of absence] got to talk about things with his old friend, President Chávez , it's a shame that in almost half a century of chaos in Cuba [Fidel] has not had the same conversation with his own citizens". As well as discussing Ernesto "El Che" Guevara and Latin America's turn towards the left, Chávez and Castro also exchanged views on the government of George W. Bush.