Doubts cast on report of Raul Castro Italy trip

CUBA
Doubts cast on report of Raul Castro Italy trip

A newspaper claimed that Cuban leader Raúl Castro landed in a helicopter
on a golf course in Italy.
Posted on Sat, Sep. 01, 2007
BY FRANCES ROBLES
frobles@MiamiHerald.com

An Italian golf resort executive has reportedly confirmed that interim
Cuban leader Raúl Castro visited his links last month. But a Cuban
official said he highly doubted the report.

Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper started the story when it reported
Thursday morning that Castro landed at the Argentario Golf Resort on
Italy's central coast in the first week of August by helicopter,
accompanied by four bodyguards.

He flew over the course, lingering over at least 10 holes.

''Later, the copter landed at the 11th hole, on a hill overlooking Lake
Orbetello,'' the paper said, citing no sources for its report.

``The lightning visit lasted only one hour.''

The newspaper said the visit came during a trip to Italy to visit some
of his grandchildren. Castro's daughter, Mariela, is married to an
Italian photographer.

Corriere della Sera reported that Castro makes annual secret visits to
Italy.

The golf resort is the property of entrepreneur Giuseppe Orsini, a
European seniors golf champion.

Italy's ANSA news agency reported later Thursday that his son, Augusto,
had confirmed the newspaper report.

A receptionist at the resort told The Miami Herald on Friday that she
had no knowledge of a Castro visit, and a news report out of Havana
quoted one Cuban official as saying he ''highly doubted'' the reported
visit.

The Corriere della Sera report included quotes from Castro, but it was
unclear how they were obtained.

' `This is a charming place,' Raúl Castro exclaimed. And turning to the
owners, he spoke in praise: 'You have done wonders. This is astounding.
The greens have been designed in an extraordinary manner.' ''

Castro's visit, if true, would be highly unusual, in part because his
brother Fidel Castro has been convalescing since he underwent emergency
surgery for intestinal bleeding last year.

Fidel Castro ceded power to his younger brother on July 31, 2006, and
has not been seen in public since, and the most-recent images of him
were released in June.

For the past three Fridays, gossip swept South Florida claiming that
Fidel Castro was finally dead. But he has continued to write columns for
Cuban newspapers.

There were many doubters of the report about Raúl Castro.

''This story is absurd,'' said Max Lesnik, a Miami anti-embargo activist
with close ties to Havana. ``It seems to me to be a fantasy.''

Raúl Castro, he added, ``can travel, but does it seem logical that a
person . . . who is in charge of a nation would go on vacation to play
golf -- never mind that his brother is sick in the hospital. Raúl Castro
has never played golf in his life.''

Lesnik stressed that Mariela and her husband live in Havana, so there
would be no reason for the grandchildren to be living in Italy.

Miami Herald staff writer Patricia Mazzei and translator Renato Pérez
contributed to this report.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/cuba/story/222360.html