| | |  Americas & Beyond | January 2009 
Castro's Halt in Essays Raises Health Concerns
 Associated Press
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Havana — A monthlong halt in Fidel Castro's regular essays and recent comments by his friend and ally, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, are raising new concerns about the 82-year-old former president's health.
His failure to send any message beyond a one-line salutation to the Cuban people on his revolution's 50th anniversary Jan. 1 also has fueled speculation, prompting articles Wednesday in the Miami Herald and the New York Times blog The Lede.
Cuban officials have not commented on Castro's current health, and his condition and exact ailment have been state secrets since July 2006, when he underwent intestinal surgery and ceded power to his younger brother Raul.
He has not appeared in public since, releasing occasional photographs and videos and penning essays several times a week. The last one was Dec. 15.
The current speculation evidently stems mostly from Chavez's acknowledgment Sunday of what many people here have believed for some time: It is unlikely Fidel Castro will be seen in public again.
"That Fidel in his uniform who walked the streets and towns late at night, hugging the people, won't return," Chavez said. "That will remain in memories."
This month, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa and Panamanian President Martin Torrijos both made official visits to Cuba, but Castro met with neither, as he had with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and Chinese President Hu Jintao in November. |
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