A rare guest appearance by Cuban leader Fidel Castro has turned a routine trade summit into a politically charged gathering of Washington's greatest Latin American foes.

Castro's surprise visit to Argentina honors the induction of Venezuela into Mercosur, the highlight of talks that start Friday. The addition gives the South American trade bloc a decidedly leftist tilt a decade after it emerged during a wave of pro-US free trade sentiment.

In this photo release by Miraflores Palace, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez , left, talks with his Cuban counterpart Fidel Castro during a Mercosur summit in Cordoba, some 700 kilometers (434 miles) from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, July 20, 2006. [AP]

The communist leader, wearing his usual olive green military fatigues, slowly descended the airplane Thursday to cries of "Fidel! Fidel!" from well-wishers behind police cordons at the airport in the central city of Cordoba. Castro - whose trip was announced after he was airborne - made no public comments but saluted the crowd with a raised hand before heading to a dinner of the visiting presidents.

The summit gives Latin America's staunchest free trade critics - Castro, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Bolivia's socialist President Evo Morales - a chance to meet with the region's more mainstream leftist leaders far beyond the influence of the White House.

It also gives them the opportunity to smooth over recent rifts. Among the sharpest: Morales' abrupt nationalization of his country's gas industry two months ago, a move that raised worries of energy shortages and price hikes for Bolivia's biggest customers, Argentina and Brazil.

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