Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro is “alive and kicking”, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez said on Saturday, apparently backtracking from his statement a week ago that put the ailing Cuban revolutionary in the past tense.
“There go the rumours again that Fidel is dead. Fidel is alive and kicking. Let’s all send him a big shout, a hug. Three cheers to Fidel,” Chávez told supporters as he campaigned for the “yes” vote in an upcoming referendum on a no-term-limit measure.
On Friday, Chávez said Fidel Castro (82) was “working, writing and following the world situation”.
Chávez’s comments followed rumours that Castro, who dropped from public view after a delicate operation in July 2006, may have passed on.
The Venezuelan leader may have unwittingly contributed to the rumour mill when commenting on the 50th anniversary of Cuba’s revolution last week, saying that the Castro of 50 years ago was gone forever.
“We already know the Fidel that walked the streets and towns at night, looking like a warrior in his uniform, hugging the people, will never be seen again. He will become a memory,” Chávez said on January 11 in his weekly Alo Presidente radio talk show.
Chávez has often visited his friend Castro where he is receiving medical attention since undergoing gastrointestinal surgery.
Chávez and Castro have been photographed and videotaped together, but the Cuban leader has not been seen in public since before handing over power to his brother Raul at the time of the operation. — AFP