Fidel Castro: Dead or Alive?
Aug 2, 2006
Fidel Castro may or may not be dying and has handed over the reigns of Cuba to his brother Raul who is said to be even more of a hardliner that Fidel.
That means the 75-year old brother assumes control over the armed forces and leadership of the Communist Party in Cuba.
The 80-year old dictator's intestinal surgery will have him bedridden for weeks if he even survives.
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The Cuban press sensing that a 'deathwatch' of sorts is underway dispatched an "official release" that claims that the Cuban leader's final moment is still ''very far away.'' Tuesday afternoon they reported that his recovery was underway and his survival seemed assured.
The Venezuelan government also said Castro was recovering from the surgery, attributing that information to representatives of Cuba's government.
At the same time, however, top Cuban exile leaders urged dissidents inside Cuba to ignite a nationwide movement of civil disobedience to protest the succession of power from Castro to his brother.
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Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba in 1959 and has held it for more than four decades, becoming one of the world's longest-ruling leaders. He has been in power for 47 years.
Internet rumors are everywhere that the dictator has died or is very close to death.
Reuters reports that one rumor claimed an eye-witness had already seen Castro die. Others said his temporary power abdication was only a ploy to out unfaithful party members.
"Everything's normal here - for the moment," hospital worker Emilio Garcia told the wire service while waiting for a friend at a Havana hotel. "But we've never experienced this before - it's like a small test of how things could be without Fidel."
That may be soon as the main newscast on state-run TV gave no details of the 79-year-old leader's condition, but ran a string of man-on-the-street interviews with Cubans wishing him well and professing confidence in the revolution's staying power. The anchor said Castro had the people's "unconditional support."
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President Bush said that Castro's fate is in God's hands:
"If Fidel Castro were to move on because of natural causes, we've got a plan in place to help the people of Cuba understand there's a better way than the system in which they've been living under," he told WAQI- AM Radio Mambi, a Spanish-language radio station.
"No one knows when Fidel Castro will move on. In my judgment, that's the work of the Almighty."
2006-08-11 23:16:42
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answer #2
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answered by ted_armentrout 5
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