Cuban President Fidel Castro is "very alive and very alert" after undergoing surgery and ceding power, a key Cuban official said, though uncertainty remained as Castro and his brother and temporary replacement, Raul, stayed out of public view. The speaker of Cuba's National Assembly, Ricardo Alarcon, told the US-based Democracy Now radio by telephone from Havana that he had spoken Monday and Tuesday with Castro, 79, who has not been seen in public since it was announced that he was relinquishing power to his brother Raul, the defense chief.
"I met with him personally Monday before the announcement was issued, and yesterday, Tuesday, I was in communication with him also. He is perfectly conscious, very good speech as always. We talked for over a half an hour on many things going on in the world, the impact that the announcement has had," Alarcon said, adding that they also spoke about Lebanon and the United States.
"Of course, he is forced to have a period of rest. He underwent complicated surgery. He's in, I would say, a normal period of recovery after an important surgery," said Alarcon, a former UN ambassador, who spoke in English.
"But he is very alive and very alert as always, very interested in what's going on around him and around the world," Alarcon said.
Castro's absence from public view has fueled speculation that he might be gravely ill, if not already dead. Raul Castro, 75, has also not appeared in public.
Alarcon on Tuesday assured the public that Castro's last moment was "far away," and that even after a delicate operation "he keeps track of the smallest detail and takes steps to confront any enemy aggression."
Asked about what is wrong with Castro medically, Alarcon told the US radio simply: "He works a lot."
And "apart from being substituted provisionally, ... he also had to designate certain comrades for specific programs on health care, education and energy and so on -- programs that he was conducting personally."
"I would say that he is doing fairly well. I don't want to diminish the seriousness of the situation. ... He needs a lot of care and attention" after surgery, Alarcon said.
"That is why he cannot be at the same time holding certain positions. For him, that is not a photo op, it is a matter of hours and hours dedicated to health care programs, education programs."
Alarcon added: "He is resting. He has to do that. ... He is not a young fellow. He is 79 years old."
Many analysts say the events suggest the communist government is practicing its transition strategy, possibly as a public confidence-builder in Raul Castro. The public knows of Raul Castro, but he is seen as less charismatic and is far less widely known than Fidel Castro.
But for the moment, neither the ailing Fidel nor his first temporary replacement was anywhere to be seen in official state media.
The Cuban Communist Party newspaper, Granma, however glowed at the naming of Raul as interim leader, saying it was a turn of "historic justice."
"The fact that the leader of the revolution (Fidel Castro) has temporarily handed his powers to Raul Castro is not only in line with the constitution, but also a historic justice done," it said, referring to Raul's leadership.
"Raul was the organizer of the armed forces, and the organizer of the party within its command. ... From the earliest years of the struggle, he has won the historic right to continue the process, something very natural for Cubans," the paper said.
