Improving Fidel Castro could return to work, says Cuban foreign minister
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| Published on Friday, March 2, 2007 |
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TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AFP) - Defying US predictions that Fidel Castro may not be long for this world, Cuba Thursday said its ailing leader is mending so well he may retake the reins of the Americas' only communist country.
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Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque.
AFP PHOTO |
Fidel Castro, 80, underwent intestinal surgery in July and handed over power temporarily, he said, to his brother; defense Chief Raul Castro, 75.
Fidel "has gained weight, is much stronger and we are very optimistic about his total recovery and his return to work," visiting Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said in Honduras' capital.
In his first live broadcast since he underwent intestinal surgery in July, Fidel Castro told Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Tuesday he is keeping abreast of such issues as "the dangers of wars, climate change, food supply troubles."
His call to the Venezuelan leader's "Hello, Mr President" daily radio talk show marked his first broadcast since January 30, when Cuban authorities released footage that showed him talking to Chavez in Havana, and looking healthier than in his five previous televised appearances.
Tuesday's half-hour conversation was broadcast live in Venezuela and retransmitted later in the evening in Cuba, where the official Granma daily on Wednesday printed the entire transcript.
"I am making progress, I feel more energetic, with more strength and more time to study," said Fidel Castro.
He gave no indication of a possible return to the power he "provisionally" ceded to his brother Raul.
And, speaking of himself in the third person, Castro mentioned "the little time we have left."
Some Cuba-watchers believe that even if he does return to power, Castro, a reputed workaholic, would not be able to preside over Cuba the way he did for almost five decades, when he kept a tight grip on almost every aspect of life on the Caribbean's largest island. |
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