Odds and ends

• Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez visited Cuba after attending a summit in Santo Domingo where last week’s Andean border crisis came to an anticlimactic end. He spent time with Raul and Fidel but most interesting of all, he arrived with the mother of FARC hostage Ingrid Betancourt and a Colombian senator who are both working for Betancourt’s release. Raul greeted all three at the airport. AP Spanish here.

• Cuba’s population declines for the second year in a row, an ominous demographic trend caused in part by emigration. El Nuevo Herald’s detailed report is here. Last year’s summary of official population data is here.

• If you’re in Washington, Rep. Jeff Flake speaks on Cuba policy Wednesday night.

• In the New York Times, Cuban immigrants in New York confronting myths about their own country.