Saturday, August 19, 2006

by Isabel Sanchez

HAVANA, Cuba (AFP): Fidel Castro is getting better and Cuba has bolstered its defenses since his operation, the strongman's brother Raul said in comments published Thursday, his first since becoming acting president.

He said Cuba stepped up security in the face of what he called "interventionist" US policies, but insisted the communist government remained open to possible dialogue with Washington.

He also said Fidel Castro, 80, was undergoing a "satisfactory and gradual recovery" thanks to "his exceptional physical and mental nature."

The bearded leader who ruled Cuba for almost 48 years, announced in a statement on July 31 that he had undergone intestinal surgery and provisionally ceded power to Raul, his constitutionally designated successor and the Caribbean nation's defense chief.

Raul Castro, 75, said that immediately after the announcement, he mobilized tens of thousands of reservists and militia members to face a possible US invasion threat.

"Every step has been taken to prevent any attempt at aggression," he said in an interview with the Communist Party newspaper Granma.

"We could not rule out the danger that someone in the US government would become crazy, or even crazier," he said.

"We have never ignored a threat from the enemy."

"It would be irresponsible to do so when faced with a government like that of the United States," he added.

Washington dismissed the suggestion it had any intention of invading the island. "The United States has no plans to invade Cuba," Eric Watnik, a US State Department spokesman said on Friday.

Cuba's acting president admitted that "the attacks during these days have not gone further than rhetorical ones."

"At this juncture, they should be very clear that it is not possible to achieve anything in Cuba with impositions and threats. On the contrary, we have always been disposed to normalize relations on an equal plane."

"What we do not accept is the arrogant and interventionist policy frequently assumed by the current administration" of US President George W. Bush.

The US government has dismissed suggestions it would take advantage of Castro's illness to foment a crisis in Cuba, but reiterated demands for free elections and democratic change in the Americas' only one-party communist regime.

A commission on Cuba that Bush created in 2003 to help defeat the Castro regime has recommended a series of steps to speed up the emergence of democracy, including funding for dissidents and support for an eventual transition government committed to holding free elections.

"What other form exists for obtaining these goals that is not military aggression? Thus, the country adopted the pertinent measures for counteracting that real danger," said Raul Castro.

But he also stressed that "absolute calm" reigned in Cuba.

The interview marked the first time Cuba's number two spoke out since his brother was hospitalized.

"I am not used to making frequent appearances in public, except at times when it is required ... I have always been discreet," Raul Castro said.

"But that has not been the fundamental reason why I don't appear very often in the mass media; simply, it has not been necessary," Raul Castro added.

The interview is illustrated with two photographs of Raul Castro in his wood-paneled office.

Authorities have maintained a veil of secrecy around the older Castro's condition, but earlier this week they released photographs and video footage showing him bed-ridden and seemingly tired but upbeat.

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