Ex Venezuelan VP says he met with Fidel Castro

Posted on Sunday, 10.21.12

Ex Venezuelan VP says he met with Fidel Castro
By ANDREA RODRIGUEZ
Associated Press

HAVANA -- HAVANA (AP) - Former Venezuelan Vice President Elias Jaua said
Sunday that he met with aging revolutionary icon Fidel Castro for five
hours and showed The Associated Press photos of the encounter, quashing
persistent rumors that the former Cuban leader was on his deathbed or
had suffered a massive stroke.

Jaua also confirmed that the 86-year-old retired Cuban president
personally accompanied him to the Hotel Nacional after their meeting
Saturday, in which they talked about politics, history, culture and tourism.

"He had the courtesy of bringing me to the hotel," Jaua said Sunday,
adding that Castro looked "very well."

Jaua showed a photograph of himself seated in a minibus along with the
former Cuban leader, Castro's wife, Dalia Soto del Valle, a hotel
executive and several other people. The photo shows Jaua and Castro
smiling broadly, and the former Cuban leader is wearing a checked shirt
and cowboy hat.

The public appearance was Castro's first in months. A top Hotel Nacional
executive told the AP earlier Sunday how Castro had dropped off the
Venezuelan guest, then stayed on to chat with hotel staff.

"Fidel Castro was here yesterday, he brought a guest and spoke to
workers and hotel leaders for 30 minutes," commercial director Yamila
Fuster said. Fuster was not present, but hotel director Antonio Martinez
is seated next to Castro in the photo shown by Jaua.

Castro's health has been the subject of intense speculation for years,
but the rumors gained force in recent days after he failed to publicly
congratulate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a top ally, on his Oct. 7
electoral victory. The former Cuban leader has not appeared since March,
when he was shown greeting visiting Pope Benedict XVI, and he has also
ceased writing his once-constant opinion pieces, the last of which
appeared in June.

Twitter and other social media sites have been abuzz with claims of
Castro's demise. Late last week, a Venezuelan doctor purported to have
information that Castro had suffered a stroke, but the same doctor has
previously claimed knowledge that turned out to be false.

Sunday's news from the Hotel Nacional appeared to be Cuba's attempt to
hit back against what it says are false and malicious rumors. A letter
attributed to Castro was published Thursday by Cuban state media. In it,
he congratulated graduates of a medical school on the occasion of its
50th anniversary.

Two close family members of Castro have also recently denied he is in
grave condition. Juanita Castro, the former leader's sister, told the AP
in Miami that reports of her brother's condition are "pure rumors" and
"absurd."

Son Alex Castro told a reporter for a weekly Cuban newspaper that his
father "is well, going about his daily life."

Castro stepped down in 2006 following a severe illness, handing power to
his brother Raul.

Paul Haven, Anne-Marie Garcia and Fernando Gonzalez contributed to this
report.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/10/21/3060184/hotel-official-fidel-castro-appears.html