(CBS/AP) Fidel Castro has terminal cancer and will not return to power as Cuba's leader, anonymous U.S. officials tell TIME magazine.

However, the officials said the intelligence reports on the ailing, 80-year-old Cuban president are not definitive.

Last month, Castro said in a statement that he has lost more than 41 pounds since he had intestinal surgery but added that the "most critical moment" was behind him.

The statement was accompanied by 10 photographs of Castro during his convalescence, in all of them sitting up and wearing either short-sleeved navy blue or light-blue pajamas. In several he is reading or writing.

Most of the pictures showed the leader from the waist up, although one shows his whole body as he sits in a rocking chair with slippers on his feet, reading what looks to be a newspaper.

The Cuban leader announced on July 31 that he was stepping aside as president to recover from the operation. It remains unclear when he had the surgery.

He said he was temporarily turning over power to his 75-year-old brother Raul, the defense minister. It was the first time in 47 years of rule that Castro had stepped aside, even temporarily.

In the weeks since, the nature of his surgery and his specific ailment have been treated as a state secret.

"All of us must understand that it is not convenient to systematically offer information, nor give out images of my health situation," Castro added. "All of us must also understand realistically that the complete recovery time, whether we like it or not, will be prolonged.

"At this moment I am not in a hurry, and no one should be in a hurry. The country is marching and moving ahead," he said.

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