 A statement signed by Fidel Castro sought to reassure the few remaining loyalists and cronies Cubans Wednesday that the 80-year-old leader was recovering well from difficult surgery, saying his weight was stable and he was eating lobster thermidor solid foods after months of intravenous feeding. In the most detailed assessment of Castro's health since shortly after he fell ill almost 10 months ago, the statement said: "It wasn't just one operation, but various. Initially it wasn't successful and that had a bearing on my prolonged recuperation."
| So sounds like the story was right: a botched partial colectomy with leakage and infection that took a long time to resolve. |
The message, sent by e-mail to foreign journalists and expected to be published in state propaganda newspapers Thursday, did not say when Castro might appear in public again or retake Cuba's presidency. It also said Castro was now taking all medicines orally.
"I tell everyone simply that I am getting better and maintain a stable weight of about 80 kilograms (176 pounds)," Wednesday's statement said, adding that the greatest risks to Castro now are age and the effects of not taking proper care of his health over the years. "No danger is greater than those related to age and health, which I abused in risky times," the statement said.
The statement said that for weeks after Castro stepped down, Cubans and foreigners spoke about a date he might appear reappear "with my olive-green uniform." Castro has been seen wearing a track suit in photographs and videos released in state media.
The comments on his health came in the second half of a statement about food production. There have been 11 written communiques signed by Castro in recent weeks, most of them lashing out at U.S.-backed plans to use food crops to produce biofuels.
| Shouldn't bother Cuba: they're self-sufficient, aren't they? |
There had been widespread expectation on the island that Castro would appear for delayed 80th birthday celebrations in his honor, including a major military parade, in early December, and then again on May 1 for the annual workers parade of hundreds of thousands of people who were given no choice. His dwindling number of loyalists were sorely disappointed both times. |