Havana: Cuba honored Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with its highest state honor on Friday in an act of defiance two days before US President Barack Obama is due for a historic visit to Havana.
Cuban President Raul Castro pinned the medal, known as the Order of Jose Marti, on Maduro in a show a solidarity between socialist allies that have stood together against the United States since Maduro's predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez, came to power in 1999.
Maduro paid repeated homage to Chavez and former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, the president's brother, as well as to the independence heroes of each country, Simon Bolivar and Marti, names that serve as a rallying cry against interference from foreign powers.
Chavez emulated and befriended Fidel Castro, coming to the aid of a Cuban economy in collapse after the fall of the Soviet Union by providing oil on favorable terms. Fidel Castro resigned in 2008, when his younger brother took over.
When Obama arrives on Sunday, it will mark the first visit to Cuba by a US president in 88 years. Obama's visit will last until Tuesday.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Cuban President Raul Castro pinned the medal, known as the Order of Jose Marti, on Maduro in a show a solidarity between socialist allies that have stood together against the United States since Maduro's predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez, came to power in 1999.
Maduro paid repeated homage to Chavez and former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, the president's brother, as well as to the independence heroes of each country, Simon Bolivar and Marti, names that serve as a rallying cry against interference from foreign powers.
Chavez emulated and befriended Fidel Castro, coming to the aid of a Cuban economy in collapse after the fall of the Soviet Union by providing oil on favorable terms. Fidel Castro resigned in 2008, when his younger brother took over.
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When Obama arrives on Sunday, it will mark the first visit to Cuba by a US president in 88 years. Obama's visit will last until Tuesday.
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© Thomson Reuters 2016
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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