Chavez: Castro "Battling For His Life"

(AP)  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Friday that Fidel Castro is "battling for his life" and that he spoke with the ailing Cuban leader for nearly half an hour several days ago.

Chavez, a close ally and admirer of Castro, compared the Cuban leader's attempt to recover from an unspecified medical condition to the 1950s, when Castro was a guerrilla in Cuba's eastern mountains fighting the government he would overthrow.

"Fidel is in the Sierra Maestra again, battling for his life," Chavez said after attending a summit of South American leaders in Rio.

Castro, 80, has not been seen in public since shortly before July 31 when he announced he was temporarily stepping aside while he recovered from an operation.

He has provisionally ceded power to his brother Raul, the 75-year-old defense minister.

Castro's medical condition is a state secret, but Cuban authorities deny he suffers from terminal cancer, as U.S. intelligence officials have claimed. Cuban officials have nonetheless stopped insisting Castro will return to power.

In a speech Wednesday night, Chavez called Castro's situation "delicate" but dismissed as speculation recent Spanish press reports portraying Castro as near death after three failed operations and complications from the intestinal infection diverticulitis.

On Friday, Chavez said he could not give more details about Castro's condition "because I'm not the doctor who's caring for Fidel."

He added: "And if I was, I wouldn't anyway, but nevertheless I can tell you: I don't know when Fidel will die, I hope he lives 80 more years, I hope he lives 100 more years."

Chavez is known for making bold statements without elaborating.

Also Friday, he accused his nation's main telecommunications company of spying on him, apparently at the bidding of the United States.

Chavez, addressing 10 South American leaders gathered at a summit of the Mercosur trade bloc, gave no additional details.

The accusation came less than two weeks after Chavez announced he would nationalize the telecommunications company, CA Nacional Telefonos de Venezuela — CANTV.

The company issued a statement late Friday denying the charges. Brian Penn, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas, declined to comment.

[randalds]

Some people are able to stand by and watch people being bullied, raped or oppressed. Thankfully the USA went to the aid of the oppressed in Afghanistan and Iraq. Unfortunately the countries that didn%u2019t chip in were fearful of losing their oil%u2026 It was all a mater of greed. If the entire world community told the bullies to stop there would have been less bloodshed and the disaster that now exists would never happen.


Posted by canadian2000 at 07:37 AM : Jan 21, 2007

What an incredibly ignorant and ill informed statement. Do you ever watch anything but FOX News? The disaster that exists now is because of Bush, not in spite of him.

[canadian2000-2009]

Some people are able to stand by and watch people being bullied, raped or oppressed. Thankfully the USA went to the aid of the oppressed in Afghanistan and Iraq. Unfortunately the countries that didn%u2019t chip in were fearful of losing their oil%u2026 It was all a mater of greed. If the entire world community told the bullies to stop there would have been less bloodshed and the disaster that now exists would never happen.

[canadian2000-2009]

Castro may have meant well for his country by using communistic values. Unfortunately, communism only comes to be with much death, oppression and control by fear. Freedom emotionally and physically is non-existent. I live next door to the USA, they are not perfect and have made many mistakes, but I do not see Americans risking their lives and those of their children in attempts to escape from their country like rats from a sinking ship. My heart goes out to the Cubans and I wish they could experience the freedom that I so often take for granted. I can voice my feelings openly against our political leaders without fear and still better I can vote or run for office if I do not like what I see. I will not be imprisoned nor will my family be put at risk. Castro does not respect life, but uses communism to hold on to his position of leadership. Technology now allows the oppressed to see what the rest of the world has. Communistic and religious fundamentalist leaders will eventually lose their control when the desire for freedom becomes greater then that of fear.

[scouser691]

"What a shame, socialized medicine couldn't save him. He should have come to U.S. for a good doctor like everyone else"

LOL, maybe he should have gone to France. According to a World Health Organization study France's healthcare system was ranked #1 in the world. Guess what it's SOCIALIZED! America was #37. I bet Castro is glad he doesn't live in the US, like many Americans he might have to travel to Canada to get affordable prescription drugs.

[mrvolleyba11]

Rafterman1 your an idiot!
...the rants of a sore loser!!! wah we were lied too, wah I hate bush, wah i can't marry my "life partner", wah it's the communists fault I dropped out of high school, I only make minimum wage, and I'm a loser, wah, wah, wah!!!

[hillaryin08]

What a shame, socialized Medicine could not save him. He should have come to the US for a good Doctor like everybody else.

We better get his cigars before Clinton gets ahold of them.

[plowhandle]

Nice to see the small-minded Republishit cheering section is awake early this morning.

I've got your liberal breakfast swinging right here, processor2.

[dflynn52]

Wow. Who'd a thought we'd be listening to kids argue when there is such great room here for mature conversation?

[processor2]

Oh look, how cute

They're wearing red just like the liberals in this country when protesting some nonsense.

............

[one_american]

Goodbye, Fidel!

...and take Noam Chomsky's pet, Hugo Chavez with you!