Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that his ailing ally, Cuban leader Fidel Castro, is recovering slowly from intestinal surgery but told him recently that he was prepared to die. ``Fidel told me when I went to visit him in Havana: 'Chavez, I already lived my epoch, I can die. I'm free to die, not you. You are a slave of life, don't let them kill you,''' Chavez said during a campaign rally in his home state of Barinas. Chavez, who is up for re-election Dec. 3, also told the crowd that Castro's health is progressing two months after he temporarily turned power over to his younger brother Raul. ``Fidel's recovery is advancing, according to the report with details that I received last night,'' Chavez said. ``It will be a slow recovery because of the type of illness, which was serious at one moment.'' Chavez did not say who sent him the report.