Defying CIA diagnosis, Castro seems

Defying CIA diagnosis, Castro seems fit
Parliament leader: Cuban president enjoys 'enviable' health

HAVANA, Cuba (AP) -- A cheerful and fit-looking Fidel Castro hugged and chatted with university leaders, making his first public appearance following the latest reports about his health.
Now 79, the communist leader seemed touched by the gathering Thursday in the elegant Aula Magna of the University of Havana, where he studied law before he launched the revolution that triumphed on January 1, 1959. The students were celebrating the start of the Cuban president's university studies 60 years ago.
"You have been very kind to remember this special day," Castro told scores of student leaders from universities around the island.
Dressed in his trademark olive green uniform, Castro sat atop a stage alongside university administrators as they were serenaded by a woman's chorus. Many other top communist leaders were in attendance.
In the early part of his address, which was televised live on state-run television, Castro did not refer to the newest reports about his health, which emerged Wednesday when U.S. officials said that American intelligence analysis indicates that he may suffer from Parkinson's disease. The CIA assessment was first reported by The Miami Herald. (Full story)
The Cuban government has issued no official response to the report, and it has not been mentioned in official media here. (Watch how healthy is Castro? -- 2:17)
But El Sol de Mexico published a story Thursday quoting Parliament speaker Ricardo Alarcon saying that Castro enjoys "enviable" physical and mental health.
"Fidel Castro, as much as some people don't like him, is a man with a very active life, with a full and exceptional dedication to work," the newspaper quoted the parliament leader as saying.
Countless rumors have circulated about Castro's health over the years, especially as he has grown older, and they have been regularly dismissed by Cuban authorities.
The reports about Parkinson's have been around for at least seven years. According to media reports, the Cuban leader has been plagued by everything from strokes to cancer.
The obsession with the Cuban leader's health is especially profound in South Florida, home to hundreds of thousands of anti-Castro exiles who dream of a different country after their nemesis dies. Castro, who turns 80 next August, has ruled the island for nearly 47 years.
Interest in his health piqued last year when he suffered an accidental fall on a concrete step after a speech, causing him to shatter a kneecap and break an arm. His health also was a focus in 2001, when he suffered a fainting spell during a speech outdoors under a searing tropical sun.
Castro's designated successor has long been his younger brother, 74-year-old Defense Minister Raul Castro.
Castro and other Cuban officials insist "there will be no transition" and that the island's socialist political and economic systems will live on long after he is gone.
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/americas/11/17/fit.castro.ap/index.html