Castro Expected To Return Within Weeks

Anita Snow, Associated Press

HAVANA — Cuba's vice president and Venezuela's leader gave optimistic
assessments of Fidel Castro's health, saying the Cuban president was
recovering quickly from intestinal surgery and could be expected back at
work within a few weeks.

Mr. Castro has been out of sight since July 31, when his secretary
announced he had undergone surgery and was temporarily ceding power to his
younger brother, Defence Minister Raul Castro.

“In a few weeks he'll be recovered and he'll return to his duties,” Vice
President Carlos Lage said Sunday when asked by reporters when Mr. Castro
would be back at work. Mr. Lage spoke in Bolivia, where he attended the
Andean country's constitutional convention.Mr. Castro's return would expose a U.S. policy of “lies” behind
speculation that he would not recover from the operation, Mr. Lage said.

Cubans were told most details of Mr. Castro's health would be kept a state
secret to prevent the island's enemies from taking advantage of his
condition. Indeed, officials have failed to say what precisely is ailing
Mr. Castro or what surgical procedure he underwent.

Mr. Lage earlier shot down reports that Mr. Castro had stomach cancer.

“The operation that he underwent was successful and he is recovering
favourably,” he said Sunday. “Fidel's going to be around for another 80
years.”

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Mr. Castro, who turns 80 next
Sunday, was out of bed and talking following his surgery.

“How are you, Fidel?” Mr. Chavez said during his weekly TV and radio
program, suggesting he believed the Cuban leader was watching. “We have
reliable information of your quick and notable recuperation.”

“Fidel Castro, a hug for you, friend and comrade, and I know you are
getting better,” he added.

Speaking by phone with Bolivian President Evo Morales later during the
program, Mr. Chavez said Mr. Castro was bouncing back quickly.

“This morning I learned that he's very well, that he is already getting
out of bed, he's talking more than he should — because he talks a lot, you
know. He has sent us greetings,” Mr. Chavez said.

Mr. Morales, a leftist elected in December as Bolivia's first Indian
president, said he was glad to learn of Mr. Castro's recovery and that
“what's left is for him to be incorporated into the battle of his country”
again. Mr. Morales said Mr. Castro was like an “older brother.”

Get-well wishes poured in from leftists across the hemisphere.

Former Nicaraguan President and Sandinista revolution leader Daniel Ortega
arrived in Havana late Saturday. “I am sure that we will soon have Fidel
resuming his functions and leading his people,” Mr. Ortega said.

Colombia's largest rebel group also expressed its solidarity with the
Cuban leader. “We hope you'll recover in the shortest time possible,” the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia said in a statement.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday the United States wanted
to help Cubans prepare for democracy but was not contemplating an invasion
of the island in the wake of Mr. Castro's illness.

“The notion that somehow the United States is going to invade Cuba,
because there are troubles in Cuba, is simply far-fetched,” Ms. Rice told
NBC News. “The United States wants to be a partner and a friend to the
Cuban people as they move through this period of difficulty and as they
move ahead. But what Cuba should not have is the replacement of one
dictator by another.”

Cuban authorities have beefed up security by mobilizing citizen defence
militias, increasing street patrols and ordering decommissioned military
officers to check in daily.

Roman Catholic Cardinal Jaime Ortega, the island's top churchman, called
on parishioners Sunday to pray for Mr. Castro's health, peace on the
island and fraternity among all Cubans, both here and abroad.

“We pray for the fatherland, for Cuba, and those who are leading it,” Mr.
Ortega told reporters after Sunday Mass at the cathedral in Old Havana.

Outside another church, a group of political prisoners' wives known as the
Ladies in White held their weekly silent march without interruption by
authorities.