Vladimir Putin meets Fidel Castro in Cuba

Vladimir Putin, Russian president, meets Fidel Castro, the retired Communist leader, in Cuba

Russian President Vladimir Putin began a six-day Latin American tour aimed at boosting trade and ties in the region with a stop Friday in Cuba, a key Soviet ally during the Cold War that has backed Moscow in its dispute with the West over Ukraine.

Cuban state media carried photos of Putin's meeting with retired leader Fidel Castro. Putin and Raúl Castro, the president, also participated in a ceremony at Havana's Memorial to the Soviet Internationalist Soldier.

The two countries signed about a dozen accords in areas such as energy, industry, health and disaster prevention. Russian companies will participate in petroleum projects around Boca de Jaruco on the island's north coast, and that cooperation will extend to offshore oil deposits, Cuban government website Cubadebate said.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff helps Cuba inaugurate special development zone

Rousseff criticized the U.S.-led economic embargo against Cuba as an "unfair blockade," 

Cuban leader Raul Castro and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff Monday inaugurated the first phase of the Cuba's Special Development Zone in the port of Mariel, a project largely financed by Brazil. The first phrase of the project is the construction of a 702-meter dock at the deep-water port. According to Cuban media, equipped with four super post-panamax cranes and 1,140 outlets for refrigerated containers, the dock has been already put into operation.

"Brazil is proud to work with Cuba in this mega-port," Rousseff said at the inauguration ceremony, adding that her country "believes in and is betting on Cuba's human capital," and "wants to be a leading economic ally" of Havana.

Brazil's National Economic and Social Development Bank is the largest fund provider of the 957-U.S.-dollar whole project, lending a total of 682 million dollars as soft credit.

Rousseff said her government will contribute 290 million dollars to the second phase construction of the port, and has organized a trade mission to the Caribbean island country to boost bilateral alliance and increase trade flow.

Rousseff criticized the U.S.-led economic embargo against Cuba as an "unfair blockade," saying it has prevented many countries from doing business with the Caribbean nation and hindered its economic development since is was imposed in 1961.

Castro thanked Brazil for its "significant financing" of what he called a "transcendental project for the Cuban economy."

The port, located 45 kilometers west of Havana and with an initial annual shipping capacity of 800,000 containers, will be Cuba's main gateway for foreign imports and exports, and has the potential to become the main shipping port in the Caribbean, said Castro.

"From this moment on, the mega-port of Mariel is inserted into the Cuban and Latin American port system," said the Cuban leader.

The port will serve all cargo and container traffic passing by, while the Bay of Havana will be reserved for cruise ships, according to local media.