Castro has post-surgery stitches problem: Diplomat

Quito, Jan 16: Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro has beenhaving problems with the healing of his stitches after stomach surgerylast July, a diplomat said yesterday.

The diplomat, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivityof the issue, was among one of the presidential delegations with closerelations to Havana that were in Quito for the swearing in of leftistEcuadorean President Rafael Correa.

The diplomat, speaking to Reuters, also dismissed suspicions thatCastro, 80, may have cancer. US officials have said they suspectCastro, who handed over power temporarily to his brother Raul Castrolast July 31 when he underwent stomach surgery, could be terminally illwith cancer.

But they have offered no evidence to support this.

''Fidel has problems with his stitches healing,'' the diplomat said.

Cuban officials in Havana were not immediately available tocomment on the remarks. But Cuban authorities have been insistent theywill not divulge details of Castro's illness.

The diplomat said Castro was taken to the operating theatre seventimes in a single day in December to deal with the problem of hisstitches. He did not give details.

Castro, who took power in Cuba in 1959, has not been seen inpublic since July 26. He handed over power to his brother five dayslater, fueling speculation he is so ill he may never return to power onthe communist-run Caribbean island.

In a New Year's message issued on December 30, Castro told Cubansthat he was recovering slowly from surgery and said his recovery was''far from being a lost battle.'' Also in December, a Spanish doctorwho examined Castro said he does not have cancer and could return togovern Cuba if he recovered fully from his surgery.

On Saturday, Castro's eldest son, Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart, told reporters in Chile that his father is on the mend.

''He's getting better, better, I see him improving,'' theSoviet-trained nuclear physicist said, adding that his father was in a''positive and optimistic mood.''

Reuters>