Castro Seen In Print, Not In Person

Fidel Castro sent Cubans a sober greeting on his 80th birthday Sunday, saying he faces a long recovery from surgery and warning they should be prepared for "adverse news." But he encouraged them to be optimistic, saying Cuba "will continue marching on perfectly well."

Meanwhile, Castro's younger brother Raul Castro made his first public appearance as Cuba's interim president, receiving Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at the Havana airport on Sunday. Chavez arrived to celebrate the elder Castro's birthday.

The first photographs of Fidel Castro since his illness two weeks ago were published Sunday in Cuba's Communist Youth newspaper with a statement by the Cuban leader saying on his 80th birthday "I feel very happy."

"For all those who care about my health, I promise to fight for it," said the statement attributed to Castro in Juventud Rebelde newspaper, but he cautioned that he still faced risks.

"To say that the objective stability has considerably improved is not making up a lie," the statement read. "To affirm that the recovery period will take a short time and that there is no risk would be absolutely incorrect.

On Saturday, Granma carried a report saying that Castro was walking and talking again, and even working a bit in the most optimistic report yet since intestinal surgery forced him to step aside as president.

Granma's article — though brief — was the most detailed statement Cuba's government has issued since Castro announced July 31 that he was temporarily ceding his powers to Raul.

Fidel Castro said his condition during his recovery would be treated as a "state secret," so as not to give any advantage to his enemies in the United States.

"Firm Like a Caguairan," the Granma headline read, comparing Castro to a hardwood tropical tree native to eastern Cuba.

"A friend tells us that just a few hours ago, upon visiting the Comandante who was briefly dispatching some business, he witnessed some good news that he enthusiastically summed up in one sentence: 'The Caguairan has risen,'" the paper said in a three-paragraph report.

"He said that he could appreciate how the Chief of the Revolution, after receiving a little physical therapy, took some steps in his room and then, seated in a chair, conversed animatedly," the report said, without identifying the friend.

While the news of Castro's progress will surely be embraced by his supporters, South Florida's Cuban exile community used it to criticize the island's government.

"Sadly, Granma's optimism of Fidel Castro's health is in sharp contrast to political prisoners who are rotting in Cuban prisons for simply disagreeing (with him)," said Alfredo Mesa, spokesman for the Cuban American National Foundation. "Dead or alive, change in Cuba must come now. The era of Fidel Castro must end."

Despite the optimistic assessment of Castro's progress, few believed that he would be making a public appearance on his 80th birthday Sunday.

No official events had been announced for Sunday, although Cuban musicians were staging a Saturday night concert in support of Castro and his government.

Latin American intellectuals had planned several days of parties, concerts and conferences on the legacy of Cuba's "Maximum Leader." But Castro was expected to spend the weekend in recovery. Celebrations have been postponed until Dec. 2, the 50th anniversary of the Revolutionary Armed Forces.

Cubans have cultivated a myth over the last half-century that Castro is invincible, but in recent days have had to face the reality that their leader is an elderly man who will someday die.

The Cuban president blamed an unspecified intestinal problem brought on by a heavy work schedule. He recently traveled to Argentina for a summit of the trade group Mercosur and gave two long speeches in eastern Cuba on July 26, the last time he was seen in public.