Chvavez says he's friends with the Jackal

CARACAS, Venezuela, June 2 (UPI) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez raised eyebrows during an OPEC meeting when he claimed to be friends with Carlos the Jackal, El Universal reported Friday.

Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, also known as the Jackal, led an attack on an OPEC meeting in 1975. Among those taken hostage was former Venezuelan Oil Minister Valentin Hernandez Acosta.

Chavez said he had received a letter from Sanchez in 1999 from his prison cell in Paris.