Sean Penn fans

Venezuelan despot Hugo Chavez is one of America's sworn enemies.

Despite this, actor Sean Penn visited Venezuela Sunday to campaign for one of the world's most despised dictators.

Penn is a friend of Chavez, who hopes to win a new six-year term on October 7. The campaign has turned into the toughest fight of the president's political career.

"Thank you very much for visiting us again, dear friend," Chavez said after introducing Penn to the big crowd in the central city of Valencia. "We're all Americans, from the north, the center, the south. Long live the American continent!"