Raul Castro to visit Venezuela on 1st trip -Chavez

CARACAS, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Cuban President Raul Castro will soon visit Venezuela, the communist-run island's main trade partner, on his first oversees trip since assuming power from his brother Fidel Castro.

Socialist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who supplies Cuba with cheap oil and calls Fidel Castro his mentor, said on Tuesday Raul Castro would visit the OPEC nation in the next few days, symbolizing the nation's close ties.

"I am pleased to say that Raul Castro, who has not left Cuba as president of Cuba, has told us in the last few days that he has been invited to visit Brazil, China, Russia and other countries but that he is not going to visit any other country before coming to Caracas," Chavez said at a speech to supporters.

It was not clear when Raul Castro would visit.

Chavez has tentatively organized for Nov. 26 a summit of Latin American leftist presidents in an alliance he leads to promote trade and economic cooperation between like-minded nations, including Cuba.

Such a trip would be a day before Russian President Dimitry Medvedev visits Chavez to oversee joint navy warship exercises in a visit that evokes memories of the Cold War.

Chavez, whose political allies face tough elections on Sunday for regional posts in Venezuela, will use the presidential visits to burnish his anti-U.S. credentials.

Raul Castro took over power when his older brother fell ill in 2006. He officially became president in February.

Chavez has a much warmer personal relationship with Fidel Castro and he frequently visited his bedside after Castro underwent emergency intestinal surgery.

But Chavez and Raul, who call the United States their enemy and each other revolutionary brothers, have maintained close bilateral ties, forging economic cooperation with such projects as the revamping of an oil refinery.

(Reporting by Enrique Andres Pretel; Writing by Saul Hudson; Editing by Bill Trott)