Associated Press
Posted April 13 2007, 4:06 PM EDT
CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Friday said
his close friend and ally Fidel Castro has ``almost totally recovered''
from his illness, and Cuba's foreign minister said the ailing leader is
getting stronger every day.
Speaking at a televised news conference, Chavez said the 80-year-old
Cuban leader's marked improvement is clear.
``Almost totally recovered is the very reliable information that I keep
receiving,'' Chavez said. ``The reports that I have and that keep
arriving speak of _ and not only the reports but his own notes, his
voice on the telephone ... a doctor would say real recovery.''
Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Roque, traveling in Vietnam, said Castro
had improved steadily.
``President Fidel Castro is recovering very well,'' Roque told reporters
after an hour-long meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart, Pham Gia Khiem.
The 80-year-old Castro hasn't made any public appearances since
undergoing emergency intestinal surgery last July, when he ceded his
leadership responsibilities to his brother Raul, the Cuban defense minister.
Castro's condition and exact ailment remain a state secret, but he is
widely believed to suffer from diverticular disease, a weakening of the
walls of the colon that can cause sustained bleeding.
Roque said Castro was back to his pre-surgery weight, did regular
rehabilitation exercises and had resumed some of his leadership duties.
``He receives reports about the country's situation and is directly
involved in managing some important issues,'' Roque said.
There has been a growing expectation on the island that Castro will soon
make a public appearance, but in recent weeks he has appeared only as
the author of three written articles.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/cuba/sfl-413castro,0,5314268.story?coll=sfla-news-cuba
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