Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Wednesday paid tribute to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez who died Tuesday night.

"It is with great sorrow that I heard about the death of my friend President Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias," wrote Bouteflika in a message reported by the official APS news agency.

"On behalf of the Algerian people, I'd like to address to his family, his relatives and the Venezuelan people our deepest condolences," the Algerian president said.

Chavez conducted an official visit to Algeria in September 2009. In the same month, Bouteflika visited the Venezuelan capital of Caracas.

On Tuesday, Caracas announced that President Chavez died at 58, after a long struggle with cancer. Endi