According to Granma news daily, the Cuban delegation to the meeting in Caracas is led by Vice Presidents Esteban Lazo - representing the Cuban Communist Party - and Carlos Lage - on behalf of the Government - as well as by the Caribbean ambassador to Venezuela, German Sanchez.

Chavez said that he had called the extraordinary meeting due to the ongoing attacks against the Bolivian government by right-wing imperialist movements.

After quoting a recent reflection by Cuban leader Fidel Castro in which he wrote that "... the peoples of Latin America are about to witness another tragedy," Chavez added: "Bolivia. It is the madness of fascism; it is the murderous hand of imperialism that attacks this sister nation."

"Bolivia is about to explode because the fascist right does not want to dialogue. For almost two years, the empire has been injecting hatred; it is a media war. We are with Bolivia," stressed Chavez.

The Venezuelan president also referred to the current food crisis that affects the region and recalled that more than 800 million people are starving in the world due to the social and economic model that prevails, in spite of the fact that today the world produces twice what is necessary to feed all the planets population.

ALBA, a regional initiative of cooperation and integration, is comprised of Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Dominica.

(acn)