• Submitted by: admin
• Politics and Government
• 01 / 14 / 2007

''He is recovering, I see him recovering,'' Fidel Castro Díaz-Balart, 54, told reporters. ``He is in good spirits and optimistic.''

The Cuba leader has not appeared in public since undergoing emergency intestinal surgery in July and temporarily ceding power to his younger brother, Defense Minister Raúl Castro.

Cuba has released little information on the 80-year-old Fidel Castro's condition, prompting much speculation and rumor in the country. A statement attributed to the elder Fidel Castro was released on New Year's Eve saying his recovery was ``far from being a lost battle.''

José Luis García Sabrido, a Spanish surgeon who has treated Castro, said last month the Cuban leader does not have cancer -- as U.S. intelligence officials have claimed -- and is recovering slowly from a serious operation.

Castro Díaz-Balart, a nuclear scientist, was in Chile for the inauguration of a scientific research center. On Friday, he attended a dinner hosted by President Michelle Bachelet.

Source: MiamiHerald.com