NICARAGUA/ VENEZUELA/ LIBYA : 23 Feb UPDATE: Prez.Ortega Calls Gadhafi To Express Solidarity; Gadhafi Didn't Flee To Caracas; Fidel Withholds Judgement.

AP/ M.HERALD /

    President Daniel Ortega (below with Fidel Castro) has called Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi several times... to express his solidarity.
    Ortega says Gadhafi "is again waging a great battle" to defend the unity of his nation.
    Earlier, there were rumors on Facebook and Twitter that Gadhafi fled to Venezuela to avoid  violent protests.
    On Libyan TV, Gadhafi said :"I want to show that I'm in Tripoli and not in Venezuela. Do not believe the channels belonging to stray dogs." He was seen holding an umbrella in the rain and leaning out of a vehicle.
The station claimed he was speaking outside his house.
    Chavez has been unusually quiet. Bolivia expressed concern over "the regrettable loss of many lives" and urging both sides to find a peaceful solution. Even Fidel Castro is hedging his bets.
  "You can agree or not with Gadhafi," Castro said. "The world has been invaded by all sorts of news ... We have to wait the necessary time to know with rigor how much is fact or lie."

     Hugo Chavez (pictured above) is said to be popular in the Muslim world and has visited Libya half a dozen times. Gadhafi visited Venezuela in 2009 and gave Chavez a large tent he uses to welcome foreign visitors.

     In 2009, Chavez proclaimed that  "Gadhafi is to Libya as Bolívar is to us, calling him a "revolutionary soldier," "a leader of of the Libyan revolution," and a "leader of all of Africa as well as Latin America."