Venezuela's Maduro meets with Fidel Castro in Cuba

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says he met with former Cuban leader Fidel Castro in Havana and the two men talked at length about their late friend, Hugo Chavez.

Maduro said Saturday on his personal Twitter account that he traveled to Cuba to meet Castro and celebrate the anniversary of the creation of the regional bloc ALBA, which was founded by Chavez nine years ago.

Venezuela's president said Castro "talked at length about Chavez" and recalled the first time they met in Havana in 1994. Chavez, Maduro's mentor, died of cancer in March.

Maduro didn't say when he arrived in Cuba or how long he would stay.

Maduro, who has close ties to the government of President Raul Castro, also visited Cuba in July.