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Cuba Denies Fidel Castro Is Dying
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?r=279&c=652747&l=1009&ctl=1456803:A6F02AD83191E1606A404C1402299C949574F7DCC14957C0 Interim leader
Raul Castro, denies US media report that his brother Fidel Castro is
dying of cancer and will not return to power Cuba's interim leader,
Raul Castro, has denied a U.S. media report that his brother,
President Fidel Castro, is dying of cancer and will not return to
power. Raul Castro said his brother is resting, but works each day a
little more. Some Cuban experts in Miami say the long-time Communist
president of the Caribbean island is gravely ill.





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src="/english/images/Granma_Fidel_Castro_210.jpg" width=163 vspace=2
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Image of Fidel Castro posted on Granma web site Tuesday, Sept. 5,
2006Ever since Cuban President Fidel Castro had intestinal surgery in
late July and temporarily ceded power to his brother Raul, Cuban
authorities have been adamant that their fiery leader will return to
power.

At an anti-U.S. trade embargo rally last week, Cuban Foreign Minister
Felipe Perez Roque said Fidel Castro is recovering, and will soon be
back "leading the revolution."

A report in Time magazine this week cites unnamed U.S. officials
saying many in the U.S. government are now convinced that the
80-year-old Castro has terminal cancer, and will never return to
power.

In Communist Cuba, details of Fidel Castro's health are a state
secret. One official quoted in the Time magazine report cautioned that
intelligence reports could be wrong, and that there is no definitive
proof.

Hans de Salas is a research associate at the University of Miami:

"It's all speculation at this point," said Hans de Salas. "We can
neither verify, nor inherently doubt the possibility that Fidel Castro
may be dying of terminal cancer. He is gravely ill, his recovery will
take at least months, before he can make a public appearance. And,
even then, it may be more of a long farewell than a true return to
power."

Julio Cesar Alfonso is a Cuban doctor, now living in exile in Miami.
He is also president of the non-profit organization, "Solidarity
without Borders," a group founded by foreign medical doctors in the
U.S. to help other doctors. He says Mr. Castro was diagnosed with
intestinal cancer when he traveled to France in 1997, and has probably
been receiving treatment for it. He said the cancer has now likely
reached a terminal stage:







Cuban TV showing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (left) with Cuban
President Fidel Castro"Castro looks very sick," he said. "He has lost
more than 40 kilos in 15 or 20 days. One can see that he acts like
someone who is seriously ill. It's not the normal behavior of Castro,
when he's conversing with people like [Venezuelan President Hugo]
Chavez or other foreign dignitaries."

Several weeks ago photos were released of Mr. Castro meeting with
President Chavez in a private setting.

The eyes of many experts are now on interim leader Raul Castro. The
75-year-old defense minister was long under the shadow of his older
brother, but has been seeking a higher profile recently. Two weeks
ago, he delivered his first nationally televised speech at the close
of a trade union congress.