‘Secret’ of Castro’s Condition Fuels Speculation He May Be Dead

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The New York Sun

HAVANA — In a statement attributed to Fidel Castro that has only fueled the rumors surrounding his health, the Cuban leader said his medical condition was a “state secret” and that it would require the “passage of time” to assess his recovery.

He added that he was feeling “fairly well,” according to the words read on his behalf by a state television presenter.

“I cannot invent good news, because that wouldn’t be ethical. And if the news were bad, the only one to benefit is the enemy,” he said in his statement.

“I wish to say that the situation is stable, but a real evolution of the state of one’s health requires the passing of time. The most I could say is that the situation will remain stable for many days before a verdict can be delivered.”

The fact that their notoriously verbose president, who hates to delegate even the smallest detail, was unable to make the announcement in person has not been lost on the Cuban people.

Most suspect that he must be seriously ill after emergency surgery.”If he could do it, he would appear on TV to show his people and the Americans that he’s alive and recovering,” said Carlos, a shop worker, reflecting an opinion widely held on the streets of Havana yesterday

The mystery over Mr. Castro’s condition intensified after experts doubted his explanation that his internal bleeding had been caused by extreme stress. Doctors said stress might exacerbate an existing medical problem but could not by itself cause the sustained bleeding of which Mr. Castro had complained.

American officials said they believed that Mr. Castro was still alive.

The speaker of Cuba’s parliament, Ricardo Alarcon, said Mr. Castro was “very alive and very alert,” and that the “final moment is still very far away” despite the surgery being a “delicate operation.”

Mr. Castro’s statement blamed the need for secrecy about his condition on his enemy, America, which he said coveted information. The statement urged Cubans to be prepared to defend their country and to continue “to struggle and to work.”

Cubans are indeed continuing with the daily struggle of their work and lives. The country’s small collection of dissidents has maintained a low profile and urged calm.

There were reports yesterday of unusual troops movements in Havana and in eastern Cuba. Army units in the eastern city of Guantanamo were reported to be rounding up reservists and state security agents were said to be intensifying their checks on dissidents.

“We know the military is mobilized,” a dissident in Guantanamo, Mariela Castro Fernandez, said. “They have us corralled. There is a terrible silence outside.”

In Miami and the Florida Keys, Cuban exile groups were readying their boats — stockpiling fuel, food, and medicines and replacing worn engine parts — preparing for possible mercy missions to Cuba if conditions there deteriorate suddenly.

Cuban-Americans, who number some 830,000 in South Florida, have demonstrated in the past that they could put to sea a fleet of 1,000 or more small craft in a matter of days in response to any humanitarian or political crisis in their home island.


The New York Sun

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