CARACAS, Venezuela -At approximately five o'clock in the afternoon this Saturday, local time, Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, leader of the Cuban Revolution, arrived to this capital city to participate in the tribute to Commander Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the physical departure of "Cuba's best friend".
The Venezuelan Vice-President for Science, Technology, Health and Education, Gabriela Jimenez, together with Dagoberto Rodriguez, Ambassador of the Greater of the Antilles, went to the aircraft's stairway at the Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía to welcome him.
After the fraternal greeting, the guard formed for the reception paid military honors to the Army General, accompanied by the member of the Political Bureau and Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz, and the Vice Prime Minister, Commander of the Revolution Ramiro Valdés Menéndez.
Subsequently, without yet removing the dust from the road, as Martí would say, Raúl and the delegation accompanying him, which also included the member of the Political Bureau and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, arrived at El Cuartel de la Montaña to pay tribute to Chávez, to the Supreme Commander, as his people recognize him.
In the words of Colonel Roberto José Castro, the Army General and the other visitors learned about the details of the building, the symbolism it entails and how much of the Bolivarian Revolution was conceived within its walls. The delegation's attention was particularly drawn to the cannon that, every afternoon, fires a gun salute at 4:25 pm, the hour that marked the Venezuelan leader's passage to immortality.
Shortly after the brief review of history, the Army General and the other members of the delegation entered the mausoleum where the remains of Chávez rest. A white rose was placed there by Raul, symbol of the brotherhood that unites us with Bolivar's Homeland; a white rose was also placed there by each companion, as a deep tribute to the man who, ten years after his departure, continues to command the Venezuelan struggles and to inspire the emancipating causes of Latin America and the world.
"Chávez left undefeated, victorious, invincible", said the Army General that March 7, 2013, shortly before leaving to Venezuela to say the last goodbye to the Bolivarian giant. This Saturday, upon returning to this sister land, as he did five years ago and as he has done several times during the last decade, his words retake all their meaning.
"Chávez entered through the big door in history and no one will be able to close that door, nor forget what has happened. The Venezuelan people will know how to defend their conquests, and we, as up to now, will be by their side, knees to the ground", Raul assured that sad March. A decade later, Chávez lives and Cuba and Venezuela continue faithful to the legacy of their leaders.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)