Castro phoned in, Cuba's paper says

Castro phoned in, Cuba's paper says
Call to gathering is meant to dispel rumors, some say
By Gary Marx
Chicago Tribune
Posted December 17 2006

HAVANA · Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro has spoken by telephone to a
gathering of government officials in what experts say is a likely effort
to counter speculation that he is near death.

The Communist Party newspaper Granma reported Saturday that Castro
called in on Friday, was briefed about the meeting's progress and then
sent greetings to provincial legislative leaders attending the event at
a convention center in Havana.

Castro's greeting provoked "happiness and enthusiastic applause" from
the participants, Granma said.

The newspaper also reported that Castro telephoned Venezuelan President
Hugo Chavez to congratulate his close ally on his re-election earlier
this month.

Chavez said Friday in Caracas that the two men had spoken twice by
telephone the day before. The Venezuelan leader said Castro is not
suffering from cancer but is battling "serious illness."

"We are very optimistic," Chavez said during a speech. "Yesterday, I
found him in a very good mood."

Meanwhile, 10 visiting U.S. Congress members met with Foreign Minister
Felipe Perez Roque and other communist officials, The Associated Press
reported, two weeks after acting leader Raul Castro offered to hold a
dialogue with American officials on equal terms.

The U.S. legislators had reportedly asked to meet with Raul Castro
during their weekend visit to Cuba, but there was no word on whether
such a meeting would take place. Led by Reps. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and
William Delahunt, D-Mass., the group arrived Friday afternoon and met
that evening with National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon. On
Saturday, the group was seen entering the Foreign Ministry for the
meeting with Perez Roque.

Rep. Hilda Solis, D-Calif., told reporters: "Everything is going well."

The Granma report and Chavez's comments provide the first details in
weeks about the health of the 80-year-old Cuban leader, who hasn't been
seen in public since late July after undergoing intestinal surgery and
ceding power to his brother, who is the defense minister.

Cuba's state-run media have released some photographs and brief videos
of Castro, but the last images of Castro broadcast on Cuban television,
in late October, showed him disoriented and weak.

Castro's absence this month from his delayed 80th birthday celebration
and a military parade marking the 50th anniversary of the Cuban
Revolutionary Armed Forces further fueled speculation in Havana and
abroad that he is near death.

Michael Parmly, the top U.S. diplomat in Cuba, traveled last week to
Washington to brief U.S. officials about Castro's health. U.S. officials
reportedly have a recent photograph of a frail-looking Castro lying in
bed. U.S. Intelligence chief John Negroponte said in an interview
published Friday in The Washington Post that Castro had "months, not
years" to live.

Hans De Salas, a researcher at the University of Miami's Institute for
Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, said the fact Castro communicated only
by telephone Friday, rather than in person or by videoconference,
indicates the precariousness of his health.

He said Castro's telephone hookup was meant to dispel rumors that he is
near death but also to prepare Cubans that he may not be around much longer.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. The
Chicago Tribune is a Tribune Co. newspaper.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/cuba/sfl-acuba17dec17,0,3010170.story?coll=sfla-news-cuba