Fidel Castro in 'slow, progressive' recovery

Madrid, Jan 20: Cuban leader Fidel Castro is making a 'slow but progressive' recovery, although his condition is serious due to his advanced age, a Spanish doctor who has examined him said.

Castro, 80, has suffered complications after surgery on his digestive system but may recover, said Dr Jose Luis Garcia Sabrido yesterday, head of surgery at Madrid's Gregorio Maranon public hospital.

''I have recent information that his recovery is slow but progressive,'' said Garcia Sabrido, who examined Castro in Havana late last year and is a consultant to his medical team.

Asked if Castro was in a 'very serious condition,' as reported by Spain's El Pais newspaper on Monday, Garcia Sabrido said, ''For a patient of his age, who has had complications after an operation, it's always going to be a general prognosis.'' The surgeon largely dismissed other reports in El Pais this week that Castro had undergone three botched operations for diverticulitis or bulges in the large intestine.

In Rio de Janeiro, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a Castro ally, said he had spoken with Castro by telephone a few days ago and likened Castro's battle to his struggle to organize the Cuban revolution from the Sierra Maestra mountains.

''He is going through a difficult situation but just like he says, the machine that they have to fix is 80 years old,'' Chavez told the state legislature in Rio de Janeiro after a summit of South American presidents.

''Fidel is in the Sierra Maestra again, fighting for his life,'' said Chavez. ''I wish he could live another 80 years. But Fidel Castro is one of those men that will never die.'' Cuba's communist leadership has maintained intense secrecy around Castro's health, which forced the revolutionary leader to relinquish power to his brother Raul Castro on July 31.

Castro has not been seen in public since July, fueling speculation he is so ill he may never return to power.

REUTERS

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