Reprinted from Caribbean Net News
caribbeannetnews.com

Raul Castro says Fidel is faring better
12-24-2006

HAVANA, Cuba (AFP): Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who has not been seen in public for months following surgery, is continuing to progress in his recovery, interim leader Raul Castro said, as reported in official media Saturday.

Fidel Castro, 80, "continues to make progress in his recovery," his brother and defense chief Raul Castro, 75, said Friday at the close of a National Assembly session to which international media did not have access.

Friday, Fidel Castro did not attend the National Assembly's last session of the year, fanning lingering uncertainty about his health.

Castro's absence spotlighted the looming question about the future of Cuba, the only Communist-ruled country in the Americas. He has only missed the session once in 30 years.

The leader of the assembly, Ricardo Alarcon, ended the eight-hour meeting, where Castro's customary chair sat empty, without transmitting any message from Cuba's longtime leader.

Castro, who has ruled Cuba since 1959, has not been seen in public since July 26, and he temporarily handed over power to his brother five days later after undergoing intestinal surgery.

The US Director of National Intelligence, John Negroponte, told the Washington Post December 15 that Castro is very ill and close to death.