text: Cuba Lula and Cuban president Fidel Castro were longtime friends. Under Lula, Brazil provided money and corporate support to Cuba. The state-controlled Brazilian oil company Petrobras studied the possibility of drilling for oil off of Cuba, while the Odebrecht construction firm headed a revamp of the Cuban port of Mariel into the island's main commercial port. Brazil's state-run Brazilian Development Bank gave $300 million to Odebrecht to build new roads, rail lines, wharves, and warehouses at Mariel. Brazil also offered Cuba up to $1 billion in credit lines to pay for Brazilian goods and services.
  Iran
  The conviction by an Iranian court of Iranian Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani for the crime of adultery, with a sentence in 2006 of execution by stoning, led to calls for Lula to intercede on her behalf. In July 2010 Lula said "I need to respect the laws of a [foreign] country. If my friendship with the president of Iran and the respect that I have for him is worth something, if this woman has become a nuisance, we will receive her in Brazil". The Iranian government declined his offer. Mina Ahadi, an Iranian Communist politician, welcomed Lula's offer, but reiterated a call for an end to stoning altogether and requested a cessation of recognition and support for the Iranian government. Jackson Diehl, deputy editorial page editor of The Washington Post, called Lula the "best friend of tyrants in the democratic world," and criticised his actions. Shirin Ebadi, Iranian human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate called Lula's comments a "powerful message to the Islamic Republic".
  In 2009, Lula warmly hosted Iranian president Ahmadinejad, who made a controversial visit to Iran.  Some demonstrators expressed displeasure over Ahmadinejad's positions on human rights and his denial of the Holocaust.