‘Healthier’ Castro shown on Cuban television

HAVANA- Fidel Castro looked stronger yesterday in the first images the Cuban government has released of him in months, showing him in a brief videotape and photographs meeting with the visiting Vietnamese Communist Party chief.

In the video clip shown on state television, and four photographs of his two-hour meeting with Nong Duc Manh published yesterday in the Communist youth newspaper Juventud Rebelde, Castro appeared to be wearing the same red track suit with black and white trim that he wore in some of the past images released by the government. In one photograph, the pair is seen sitting on rattan chairs and chatting, and in the other three they are standing, including one that shows them embracing.It was the first official videotape of Castro released since a meeting in Havana in late January with his friend and ally Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, and the first still photographs released of him since a meeting with the Chinese Communist Party leader Wu Guanzheng in April.The meeting between the Cuban and Vietnamese leaders was first reported by state television Saturday night on the regular news broadcast, but the images were not released until hours later.The statement said Castro and Manh met for two hours, discussing themes ‘of mutual interest and especially about Latin America and the Caribbean’.Castro, 80, has not been seen in public since he announced on July 31 that he had undergone emergency intestinal surgery and was temporarily ceding power to his brother Raul, the Defence Minister, who turns 76 yesterday.Castro’s exact ailment and condition remain state secrets, but he is largely believed to suffer from diverticular disease, which forms sacs in the colon that can become inflamed and bleed.In one of a new series of essays he has been writing during his convalescence, Castro said he had undergone numerous operations and the first one had not gone well, explaining why his recovery has been delayed.Nevertheless, senior Cuban officials have repeatedly said Castro is on the mend and the government has occasionally released photographs and videotapes during his recovery.Castro met April 20 with Wu Guanzheng, the head of a visiting Chinese Communist Party delegation and photographs of the encounter were published the following day in Cuba’s communist party newspaper.Raul Castro and Manh signed a series of bilateral accords on Friday, including one that will make Vietnam Cuba’s latest partner in oil exploration and drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.Nampa-APIn one photograph, the pair is seen sitting on rattan chairs and chatting, and in the other three they are standing, including one that shows them embracing.It was the first official videotape of Castro released since a meeting in Havana in late January with his friend and ally Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, and the first still photographs released of him since a meeting with the Chinese Communist Party leader Wu Guanzheng in April.The meeting between the Cuban and Vietnamese leaders was first reported by state television Saturday night on the regular news broadcast, but the images were not released until hours later.The statement said Castro and Manh met for two hours, discussing themes ‘of mutual interest and especially about Latin America and the Caribbean’.Castro, 80, has not been seen in public since he announced on July 31 that he had undergone emergency intestinal surgery and was temporarily ceding power to his brother Raul, the Defence Minister, who turns 76 yesterday.Castro’s exact ailment and condition remain state secrets, but he is largely believed to suffer from diverticular disease, which forms sacs in the colon that can become inflamed and bleed.In one of a new series of essays he has been writing during his convalescence, Castro said he had undergone numerous operations and the first one had not gone well, explaining why his recovery has been delayed.Nevertheless, senior Cuban officials have repeatedly said Castro is on the mend and the government has occasionally released photographs and videotapes during his recovery.Castro met April 20 with Wu Guanzheng, the head of a visiting Chinese Communist Party delegation and photographs of the encounter were published the following day in Cuba’s communist party newspaper.Raul Castro and Manh signed a series of bilateral accords on Friday, including one that will make Vietnam Cuba’s latest partner in oil exploration and drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.Nampa-AP