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Recovery could take time, says Castro
Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro said his recovery could take time and cautioned Cubans to be ready for bad news.
- Reuters
- Published: 00:00 August 15, 2006
- Image Credit: AP
- Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez greets interim Cuban President Raul Castro, younger brother of Fidel Castro, upon his arrival at Havana on Sunday. Chavez is in Cuba to celebrate Fidel Castro's birthday.
Havana: Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro said his recovery could take time and cautioned Cubans to be ready for bad news.
Meanwhile, acting president Raul Castro stepped into his brother's public role by greeting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez as he arrived for a visit.
Nearly two weeks after Fidel Castro temporarily ceded power to his younger brother the first change of control in the communist Caribbean nation in 47 years Cubans finally got a look at both men on Sunday.
Fidel Castro appeared in photographs to reassure Cubans he was still alive on his 80th birthday. Raul Castro met Chavez, a top Cuba ally, with a salute and a hug at the Havana airport.
The communist youth newspaper Juventud Rebelde published what it said were current pictures of Fidel Castro, along with a cautionary message attributed to the leader saying he faced a long recovery.
"I suggest you be optimistic and, at the same time, always prepared to receive bad news," he said in his message.
"To say the stability has improved considerably is not to tell a lie. To say that the period of recovery will be short and there is now no risk would be absolutely incorrect," Castro said in the message.
The four pictures were the first of Castro since he ceded power on July 31 due to surgery to stop intestinal bleeding.
In Bolivia, President Evo Morales sang Happy Birthday, comandante to Castro on Sunday and vowed to take him a birthday cake made with coca leaves the raw material used to make cocaine.
News that their leader had reappeared and was on the mend came as a relief to many Cubans worried his death could create upheaval in one of the world's last communist outposts. Others were more sceptical about the picture and thought his condition was worse than the nation was being told.
Meanwhile, Communist Party newspaper Granma published photographs yesterday of Castro during a three-hour visit to his bedside by Chavez.
The gallery of pictures on Granma's website show Chavez shaking Castro's hand on his 80th birthday on Sunday, handing him presents, sharing a snack and writing notes together.
Also present in what appears to be a hospital room is Raul Castro.
"It was a unforgettable afternoon, shared between brothers of the cause, that brought new strength and encouragement to the brave comandante of a thousand battles who is seeking a new victory for life," Granma said.
For the first time in his 47-year rule, Castro handed over power temporarily to his brother July 31 after undergoing surgery to stop intestinal bleeding.
There were no new details on Castro's condition, which he said in a birthday message on Sunday was stable but not beyond risk to his life.
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