"We already know the Fidel that walked the streets and towns at night, looking like a warrior in his uniform, hugging the people, will never be seen again. He will become a memory," Chavez said on his weekly "Alo Presidente" radio talk show on Sunday.

Chavez has often visited his friend Castro, 82, where he is receiving medical attention since undergoing gastrointestinal surgery in July 2006. Castro has not been seen in public since handing over power to his brother Raul that same month.

Chavez recalled the last time he saw Castro in public, a few days before he was hospitalized, in Cordoba, Argentina.

"He escorted me to the airplane door. We hugged. How was I to know, my God, it would be the last time!

"But Fidel will live on, like he is alive now and will always live on beyond this physical life. And he must live on, he knows, for years to come. We still need you," said Chavez.