Cuba, Vanezuela To Biuld Oil Alliance

Presidents of Cuba and Venezuela Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez met on Tuesday to discuss a plan to provide the Caribbean with more oil on preferential terms.

They were going to have talks on forming a joint company, Petrocaribe, to build a regional oil alliance and distribute fuel more cheaply in the Caribbean.
Chavez has said that the Petrocaribe initiative is about more than just bargain oil prices, and represents the "union of the Caribbean." Others say the plan is simply "oil diplomacy."

While many Caribbean islands stand to benefit economically, Venezuela will likely gain political capital by winning allies in its frequent disputes with the United States, said Bishnu Ragoonath, a political science professor at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad.