HAVANA (AP) - The leftist presidents of Cuba, Bolivia and Venezuela endorsed their pact for regional commerce and cooperation yesterday in hopes of creating a political counterweight to US influence in Latin America.

The gathering is part of a deepening political and economic alliance among communist Cuba's Fidel Castro, left-leaning Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Evo Morales of Bolivia, who are drafting their idea for regional integration without US control.

HAVANA, Cuba - Bolivian President Evo Morales, (left) shakes hands with his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez, (right) across Fidel Castro, here yesterday. Bolivia's new president signed a pact called the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, with Cuba and Venezuela rejecting US-backed free trade and promising a socialist version of regional commerce and cooperation. (Photo: AP)

Morales' decision to sign the year-old Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas was a victory for Chavez and Castro in their push to increase their political influence in the region.

Their efforts include oil-producing Venezuela's cut-rate petroleum deals for Caribbean nations, Cuba's literacy efforts in South America and their programme to bring free eye operations to needy people around the hemisphere.

The Bolivarian pact is largely a political statement that acts as a mechanism for regional trade and cooperation efforts. Its results have also been economic, with Venezuela-Cuba trade expected to reach more than US$3.5 billion this year - about 40 per cent richer than in 2005.

Trousers in Denim

Cream of the 'Crop'

Cheeky's World