Chavez brushes off rumors of Fidel's bad health
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| Published on Monday, January 19, 2009 |
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MACHIQUES, Venezuela (AFP): After a week of swirling rumors surrounding ailing Fidel Castro's health, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said that he believed Castro was still "working" and "writing."
"I received a letter from Fidel a week ago, perhaps eight or 10 days ago," Chavez said Friday in Machiques, western Venezuela.
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| Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. AFP PHOTO |
"Everyone knows about Fidel's health, I know it very well. Fidel is working, writing, following the global situation."
Chavez had previously added high-octane fuel to speculation of Fidel Castro's health. In his Sunday talk show this week, he said: "We already know that the Fidel who used to walk around streets and towns in his uniform, embracing people, will no longer be back. He will remain in our memories."
Cuban leader Raul Castro meanwhile appeared in Cuban media Friday smiling and going about presidential business, in a show that Cuba's government is unaffected by the health crisis rumor mill.
The health of Fidel Castro, 82 - who was sidelined in July 2006 by major intestinal surgery after almost 50 years at communist Cuba's helm - has for days been front-page news in Miami, home to the bulk of the Cuban-American community.
Last February, his brother Raul Castro, 76, officially took over as president.
The elder Castro, who had appeared stabilized if frail, had been writing regular editorials in official media, but he has not run one since December.
And in other clues to his possible failing health, on January 1, as Cuba celebrated a major historic landmark with the 50th anniversary of the revolution Fidel Castro led, many Cubans expected he might make some kind of appearance in official media. Instead, celebrations were modest, Raul Castro led them and Fidel was a no-show.
There was only a very short anniversary greeting from Fidel Castro in the newspaper, and brevity is something that rarely has been associated with the charismatic and often long-winded Fidel Castro.
In Miami, home to more than 800,000 of the over 1.25 million Cuban-Americans, local authorities have standing plans for response to street celebrations that might erupt if news of Castro's passing arrives.
On the Internet, some rumors had the ex-premier in "critical condition."
Several Latin American presidents, including Panama's Martin Torrijos and Ecuador's Rafael Correa, recently visited Cuba but did not meet with Fidel Castro, formally still head of the Cuban Communist Party. | | | | Reads : 1054 | | | |
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