Chavez’s letter, in his own hand, was read on Friday by Roberto Lopez,
head of the brigade of Cuban internationalist workers in Venezuela, during
a rally to commemorate the 53rd anniversary of the triumph of the Cuban
Revolution on January 1, 1959.

“On behalf of the Venezuelan people, who have received so much love and
life from you, I say: thank you, a thousand times thank you forever,” the
leader wrote.

The letter was welcomed with a standing ovation by the more than 1,000
Cuban workers who gathered at the Alba Caracas hotel in the Venezuelan
capital for the occasion.

In his key address, Lopez referred to the most significant events lived in
Cuba since the revolutionary triumph in 1959 and ratified the Cuban
people’s decision to continue fighting to defend their Revolution.

He also extolled the work of the Cuban health professionals in Venezuela
saying that they “turn heroic deeds into something ordinary.”

Present in the rally was the Cuban ambassador to Caracas, Rogelio Polanco,
as well as members of the diplomatic corps in Venezuela.