Ortega joins other revolutionaries in wishing Castro well
HAVANA (AP) -- Former Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega joined other revolutionaries and leftists in wishing Fidel Castro well, traveling to Havana to offer his support while Cuban officials said the leader is recuperating well after intestinal surgery.
"I am sure that we will soon have Fidel resuming his functions and leading his people," Ortega, a leader of the Sandinista revolution and current presidential candidate in Nicaragua, told Cuban state media after arriving in Havana late Saturday.
Earlier, Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage denied reports that Castro had stomach cancer and said his the Cuban leader has "been made well by the operation and is recuperating favorably."
Lage's comments, made Saturday during a visit to Bolivia for the opening of a constitutional assembly, were the most detailed by a Cuban government official about Castro's medical condition since Monday, when it was announced that Castro had undergone surgery for intestinal bleeding and temporarily handed over power to his brother Raul. The leader turns 80 on Aug. 13.
Havana has provided no details and released no pictures of Castro -- fueling speculation around the world about his condition. Raul Castro, the defense minister, also has not been seen in public since the announcement.
Meanwhile, a Cuban boy at the center of an international custody battle with family members in Miami six years ago joined the list of people wishing Castro a swift recovery.
"We send you this letter to let you know that we are worried about your health," Elian Gonzalez, now 12, wrote to Castro in a letter signed with "little kisses" from him and his half-siblings and cousins. The letter was published Sunday in the Communist Youth newspaper Juventud Rebelde.
"We hope for your speedy recovery and take the opportunity to wish you a happy birthday, may you have many more," Elian added.
Cubans were told Tuesday in a statement attributed to Castro that most details of his health would be kept "a state secret" to prevent the island's enemies from taking advantage of his condition.
Doctors in the United States said Castro's condition could be life-threatening but since details of his symptoms were unknown it was hard to say what caused the intestinal bleeding: severe ulcers, a colon condition called diverticulosis or even cancer.
Parliament Speaker Ricardo Alarcon also said in comments broadcast Saturday by CNN en Espanol that Castro "remains in stable condition" and "is resting in order to recover as quickly as possible." The interview was taped late Thursday by state-run Cubavision Internacional in a special package for CNN and was not previously aired.
The Communist Party's daily newspaper Granma on Saturday ran a series of emotional statements by some of the island's top cultural figures wishing Castro a steady recovery.
"If it's necessary to give him life, I will offer mine," said Richard Egues, an elderly flutist with the Cuban orchestra Aragon who said he was also ill.
"This is a delicate moment and it's necessary to prepare, because the enemy might have illusions," Juan Formell, director of Los Van Van, one of the island's most popular tropical groups, said from Japan. "I trust in our Armed Forces, and in our people."
Authorities have been calling on Cubans to reaffirm their commitment to Castro and the government, and have beefed up security by mobilizing citizen defense militias, increasing street patrols, and ordering decommissioned military officers to check in at posts daily.
The enemy in Cuba is perceived to be the U.S. government and hardline Cuban-American exiles. U.S. President George W. Bush's call on Thursday for democratic change on the island was seen as a provocation.
Washington insists it is pushing for peaceful change in Cuba and has no intentions of invading, with White House press secretary Tony Snow dismissing as "absurd" the suggestion that the United States would attack.
Nevertheless, Cuban veterans -- most of them in their 60s and 70s -- promised they would fight for Cuba in the event of an attack.
The veterans fought in Castro's battles of the 1950s to oust former dictator Fulgencio Batista and then defended the island against the failed U.S.-backed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
