Handout picture released by the Venezuelan presidency of President Hugo Chavez (C) being applauded during the swearing in ceremony of his new ministers in Caracas on August 1, 2011. Chaves, who appeared with his hair trimmed short, said that his chemotherapy sessions are already showing results. – AFP Photo

CARACAS: Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi has sent an envoy to Caracas carrying a letter addressed to Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan leader said Monday, without revealing the contents of the message.

“The envoy brought a letter for me. That is good, the world needs to know about this,” Chavez said on state VTV television.

The envoy arrived late Sunday, but Chavez said due to medical reasons he would not be able to meet with him.

Chavez, 57, is undergoing chemotherapy after a June 20 operation in Cuba to remove a cancerous tumor and has drastically limited his public appearances.

Chavez -- Qadhafi's main supporter in Latin America -- has consistently denounced the months-long military operation in Libya claiming it is an oil grab by Western powers.

On Saturday, Chavez issued a statement formally condemning Nato's “illegal bombing” of Libyan state television in Tripoli, in which three people were killed and 15 wounded. He described it as a “barbaric act” against journalism and the news media.

Nato said it carried out an air strike “that disabled three ground-based Libyan state TV satellite transmission dishes in Tripoli... with the intent of degrading Qadhafi's use of satellite television as a means to intimidate the Libyan people.”

Chavez in 2004 was awarded the Al-Qadhafi International Prize for Human Rights, a prize granted by the Libyan leader. Cuba's Fidel Castro and Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega have also won the award.