Cuban Newspaper Photo Shows Heavier-Looking Fidel Castro

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The New York Sun

HAVANA — Cuba published a photo yesterday of a standing, smiling Fidel Castro looking heavier but still gaunt as he met with Angola’s president, the first head of state to see the ailing 81-year-old since June.

The picture, which appeared on the front page of a Communist Party youth newspaper, Juventud Rebelde, shows Mr. Castro in a track suit, athletic pants, and tennis shoes. The Cuban leader appears to have gained weight and wears a warm half-smile as he shakes hands with President Dos Santos of Angola, who was in Cuba since Thursday on an official visit. The image was released two days after Mr. Castro gave a surprise hour-long interview on state television, during which he answered rumors about his death that have swirled recently in America by saying simply, “Well, here I am.” Yesterday’s photo was the first time Castro has been seen standing in months. He stayed seated during the interview, which aired Friday evening just hours after officials said it was taped.

Held in an undisclosed location, the meeting between Messrs. Castro and Dos Santos reportedly took place Saturday afternoon and lasted an hour and 45 minutes.

“I could see him recuperating,” Mr. Dos Santos told Cuba’s state news agency, Prensa Latina. “He’s strong, with good enthusiasm.”

Mr. Castro has not appeared in public since announcing on July 31, 2006, that emergency intestinal surgery was forcing him to step down in favor of a provisional government headed by his 76-year-old brother, Raul Castro.

Fidel Castro’s condition and exact illness are state secrets, and before Friday, it had been more than three months since Cuba’s government released images showing his recovery — prompting rumors in Miami and elsewhere that he had died.


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