CARACAS (AP) -- Diego Maradona was mobbed by dozens of enthusiastic fans when he arrived in Venezuela on Wednesday to visit President Hugo Chavez and attend a series of events aimed at promoting sporting activities.

Maradona told state media he was eager to meet with Chavez -- a friend who shares his love for sports and leftist political ideals -- as fans waved Venezuelan and Argentine flags at Simon Bolivar International Airport -- named after Venezuela’s 19th-century independence hero.
Maradona heaped praise on President Hugo Chavez during a visit to Venezuela on Thursday, saying he’ll support the socialist leader until he dies.
“It’s an honor to be at his side because his fights for his ideals, for the people, for his country,” Maradona told journalists at the presidential palace as he stood alongside Chavez. “I’m with him until death.”
Maradona also said he plans to travel to Cuba to visit Fidel Castro “if everything goes well” after meeting with Argentine Football Association president Julio Grondona next week, when he’s expected to announce that he’ll remain the coach of Argentina.
He told journalists that Castro looks healthy and mentally alert -- something that probably doesn’t sit well with some officials in Washington.
“I saw him doing very well on television, very lucid,” said Maradona, adding that U.S. officials “want to see him dead.”
Chavez warmly welcomed his guest.
“We admire you,” Chavez said, calling his guest “a defender” of Latin America.
Maradona was mobbed by dozens of enthusiastic fans when he arrived on Wednesday at Simon Bolivar International Airport. Adoring fans waved Venezuelan and Argentine flags.
Maradona and Chavez are friends who share a love for sports and leftist political ideals.
Maradona has repeatedly boasted of his friendships with Chavez and Castro. During one visit to Venezuela he praised Chavez as a great leader who was needed by the poor in Latin America.
The football great has a tattoo of Argentine-born revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara on his right shoulder and another of Castro on his left leg. And he’s expressed the desire to get another tattoo - of Chavez.
Maradona lived for several years in Cuba while recovering from drug addiction. There he made friends with the Castro brothers, who have become Chavez’s closest allies. - AP
Photo: Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez welcomes Argentina's soccer coach Diego Maradona at Miraflores Palace in Caracas on July 22, 2010. (Reuters photo)
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