HAVANA (AP):
Fidel Castro is resting and recovering from stomach surgery, top Cuban officials said yesterday, as the island beefed up security, saying it fears a U.S. attack during the Cuban president's health crisis.
Cuban news agency Prensa Latina reported that Vice President Carlos Lage said Castro was recovering satisfactorily from stomach surgery and that the communist leader sent his "fraternal greetings" to the people of Bolivia. Lagos was in the South American nation for the Sunday opening of a convention to rewrite its constitution.
Parliament Speaker Ricardo Alarcon also said in comments broadcast yesterday by CNN en Español that Castro "remains in stable condition" and "is resting in order to recover as quickly as possible." The interview was taped late Thursday by state-run Cubavision Internacional in a special package for CNN, and was not previously aired.
fight for Cuba
Meanwhile, former revolutionaries, most of them in their 60s and 70s and who defended against the failed U.S.-backed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, promised they would fight for Cuba in the event of a possible U.S. attack. Under the control of Castro's brother, Defense Minister Raul Castro, the Cuban government has mobilised citizen defense militias and asked military reservists to check in daily.
The Communist Party daily newspaper Granma published a statement by the Association of Combatants of the Cuban Revolution on its front page, telling Fidel Castro: "We will continue working with the same revolutionary fervor that you taught us." The veterans' group also expressed confidence that Castro would be back on his feet soon.
no invasion threat exists
The White House has insisted no invasion threat exists, with press secretary Tony Snow dismissing the suggestion that the United States would attack the island as "absurd."
The newspaper also filled its front page with emotional messages from top Cuban cultural figures like folk singer Pablo Milanes and Juan Formell, the director of Los Van Van, one of the island's most popular tropical groups.
"This is a delicate moment and it's necessary to prepare, because the enemy might have illusions," Formell said from Japan. "I trust in our armed forces, and in our people."
Milanes, also travelling outside Cuba, said he promised to represent Castro and the Cuban people "as this moment deserves: with unity and courage in the presence of any threat or provocation."
