Havana, December 14 (RHC)-- Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel paid tribute to leaders Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez, on occasion of the 25th anniversary of their first meeting here in Havana on December 13th, 1994.

On his Twitter account, Diaz-Canel recalls an article by former Cuban ambassador to Venezuela Germán Sánchez published on Cubadebate website. It reviews the countless meetings between both leaders, their friendship and the admiration they felt for each other, as well as the projects they designed and created together toward regional independence and integration.

The article also recalls the speech delivered by the Bolivarian leader at the Aula Magna of the University of Havana, when he affirmed that Cuba was a bastion of Latin American dignity.

Even before personally meeting Chavez, Fidel perceived many qualities in the young Venezuelan revolutionary, specially his strong commitment to Latin American and Caribbean independence and integration.

In 1998, Hugo Chavez won a landslide electoral victory in Venezuela and began a process of profound economic, social, cultural and political transformations called the Bolivarian Revolution, which lives on today 6 years after his death.