Left-winger Chavez, who is resisting opposition efforts to trigger a referendum on his rule next year, today announced the surprise visit by his close friend and political ally during his weekly Hello President television and radio show.
"We'll have lunch and talk for a few hours," Chavez said, adding the 77-year-old Cuban leader would return to Havana the same day.
If Chavez, a 49-year-old populist former paratrooper, was voted out in a referendum, this would deprive Castro of a major source of political and material support in the region.
The Venezuelan leader said they would discuss tomorrow growing bilateral co-operation between the world's No5 oil exporter and the communist-ruled Caribbean island.
This co-operation in energy and social programmes has irritated Washington and provided a vital oil lifeline to cash-strapped Cuba.
Under a three-year-old energy accord, Venezuela sends Cuba up to 53,000 barrels per day of oil – about one third of the island's consumption.
The two leaders, who consult frequently, share "revolutionary" ideologies and are outspoken critics of US policy, even though Venezuela is one of the top suppliers of oil to the United States.
They are sure to discuss the political situation in Venezuela, where foes of Chavez filed with electoral authorities Saturday more than three million signatures requesting a referendum on his rule next year. [End]
Government officials had earlier refused to disclose the site of the meeting. This had shrouded in secrecy the brief visit by the 77-year-old Castro to Venezuela, Communist Cuba's biggest political ally and trade partner in Latin America.
Chavez said he and Castro had discussed growing medical and energy cooperation between their nations. They also reviewed the political situation in Venezuela, where the Populist president is resisting a determined opposition bid to trigger a referendum next year on whether he should stay in power.
State television showed the two leaders embracing. It also broadcast a long, rambling interview with Castro in which he praised Chavez as an influential leader spearheading the fight in Latin America against U.S.-style global capitalism.
"I challenge the world to produce a more generous man," the Cuban leader, who spoke slowly and haltingly, said. ***