Chavez has little news, many stories, about Castro

CARACAS, Venezuela, Aug 7 (Reuters) For nearly a week now, Latin America has been looking to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez for news about Fidel Castro's health.

But yesterday Chavez's regular national broadcast contained little information on the condition of the 79-year-old Cuban leader who is recovering from surgery for internal bleeding.

Chavez, a critic of the United States who has become a close ally of Cuba by providing much-needed crude from Venezuela's oil reserves, did say that Castro was able to leave his bed and hold conversations.

But most of his comments about Castro referred to Fidel's home-spun indigestion cure -- a combination of oatmeal and soy dubbed a ''tsunami'' -- and his habit of continually asking questions.

The president said Castro, who became ill after visiting Argentina with Chavez and other regional leaders last month, had offered him the remedy for his own ailing stomach.

''I was in Buenos Aires with a bad stomach, I don't know what it was that got me. I think it was something on the plane,'' Chavez said. ''That night I saw Fidel, he gave me something he makes called a 'tsunami' -- it was practically a punishment -- and a cold cream of rice. That made me feel better.'' He also provided a 10-minute description of Castro's habit of overwhelming people with questions.

''When you meet Fidel Castro, he'll ask you 100 questions during the first five minutes,'' said Chavez.

During a visit to the childhood home of Latin American leftist hero Che Guevara in Argentina, Chavez said Castro unleashed a torrent of questions on a woman giving a tour.

''I had to intervene in defense of the woman, because she was being massacred by the infinite questioner Fidel Castro,'' Chavez said. ''I said 'Leave the poor woman alone,' I gave her a hug, because I was worried with so many questions.'' He said that when Castro visited a reservoir in southeastern Venezuela he asked so many questions about the area's hydroelectric generation facilities that Chavez had to send him to the state's governor, who subsequently called a technician.

''Then when we were in a canoe navigating in the lake, he said, 'Chavez, how fast does do you think that waterfall is flowing?''' Chavez said with his characteristic chuckle. ''I wanted to push him into the water.'' REUTERS DH RK0540