Havana
Rumors that Fidel Castro may be dead were dispelled last week, after Cuban state television aired video of the Cuban leader in his Havana hospital room, dressed in a red, white, and blue tracksuit and chatting with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. “I am feeling great” after intestinal surgery, Castro wrote in a message in the official government newspaper Granma to mark his 80th birthday. Cuba, he said, “marches on and will continue marching perfectly well.” But he warned that he faces a long recovery and that his countrymen should be “always ready for bad news.” Castro has temporarily turned over power to his brother Raúl, Cuba’s longtime defense minister.
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