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| Fidel Castro attacks 'imperialist media' for reporting rumours about his health | Fidel Castro attacks 'imperialist media' for reporting rumours about his health |
| (30 days later) | |
| Fidel Castro has proved he is not only alive but still kicking with a scathing attack on the "imperialist media" for spreading rumours that he was either dead or in a neuro-vegetative state. | Fidel Castro has proved he is not only alive but still kicking with a scathing attack on the "imperialist media" for spreading rumours that he was either dead or in a neuro-vegetative state. |
| Accompanying a photograph of him reading last Friday's edition of the Cuban Communist party newspaper, the 86-year-old revolutionary issued a personal health bulletin in which he described reports that he had suffered a stroke as "nonsense" and claimed he did not even suffer from headaches. | Accompanying a photograph of him reading last Friday's edition of the Cuban Communist party newspaper, the 86-year-old revolutionary issued a personal health bulletin in which he described reports that he had suffered a stroke as "nonsense" and claimed he did not even suffer from headaches. |
| The article – sarcastically entitled "Fidel Castro is in his death throes" – followed a week of rumours about Castro's demise, following his apparent failure to publicly congratulate his ally and friend Hugo Chávez for winning the Venezuelan presidential election on 7 October. | The article – sarcastically entitled "Fidel Castro is in his death throes" – followed a week of rumours about Castro's demise, following his apparent failure to publicly congratulate his ally and friend Hugo Chávez for winning the Venezuelan presidential election on 7 October. |
| The former president of Cuba had not been seen in public since March, when he met Pope Benedict, and had not made a statement since June, when he published the last of what had been a regular column called Reflections. | The former president of Cuba had not been seen in public since March, when he met Pope Benedict, and had not made a statement since June, when he published the last of what had been a regular column called Reflections. |
| Since he handed power to his brother, Raúl, in 2006 citing health reasons, there have been repeated false alarms about Fidel Castro's health. But the speculation hit a new level of intensity last week thanks to social networks, the Cuban diaspora and a doctor who claimed to have inside information. | Since he handed power to his brother, Raúl, in 2006 citing health reasons, there have been repeated false alarms about Fidel Castro's health. But the speculation hit a new level of intensity last week thanks to social networks, the Cuban diaspora and a doctor who claimed to have inside information. |
| José Marquina reportedly lives in Spain, practises in Florida and is neither a specialist in oncology nor neurology, but was widely quoted as saying Castro was in a neuro-vegetative state. "He has suffered an embolic stroke and recognises absolutely no one," he told reporters last week. | José Marquina reportedly lives in Spain, practises in Florida and is neither a specialist in oncology nor neurology, but was widely quoted as saying Castro was in a neuro-vegetative state. "He has suffered an embolic stroke and recognises absolutely no one," he told reporters last week. |
| Marquina – who says he has close connections inside the Venezuelan medical community – gained a huge online following earlier in the year for reports that Chávez's cancer had spread to his liver, which would make it difficult for him to campaign. His comments on both leaders have been carried by the Miami Herald and Spain's rightwing ABC newspaper among others. | Marquina – who says he has close connections inside the Venezuelan medical community – gained a huge online following earlier in the year for reports that Chávez's cancer had spread to his liver, which would make it difficult for him to campaign. His comments on both leaders have been carried by the Miami Herald and Spain's rightwing ABC newspaper among others. |
| Last week, Castro's children and the Cuban government dismissed the rumours of a deadly or debilitating stroke as "absurd". On Thursday, the Cuban media published a congratulatory message from Castro to a medical school on its 50th anniversary. At the weekend, the former Venezuelan vice-president Elías Jaua said he had met Castro for five hours and showed photographs of the encounter in Havana. | Last week, Castro's children and the Cuban government dismissed the rumours of a deadly or debilitating stroke as "absurd". On Thursday, the Cuban media published a congratulatory message from Castro to a medical school on its 50th anniversary. At the weekend, the former Venezuelan vice-president Elías Jaua said he had met Castro for five hours and showed photographs of the encounter in Havana. |
| "He had the courtesy of bringing me to the hotel," Jaua told Associated Press, adding that Castro looked "very well". Staff at the Hotel Nacional said the former president's health was "great" and that he was "coherent and affectionate" to employees. | "He had the courtesy of bringing me to the hotel," Jaua told Associated Press, adding that Castro looked "very well". Staff at the Hotel Nacional said the former president's health was "great" and that he was "coherent and affectionate" to employees. |
| This failed to quash the rumours, especially after Castro failed to vote in person during Sunday's municipal elections. | This failed to quash the rumours, especially after Castro failed to vote in person during Sunday's municipal elections. |
| The state-run Trabajadores newspaper reported that Castro had sent in an absentee ballot from his home – a right it said was extended to all citizens with "impediments". | The state-run Trabajadores newspaper reported that Castro had sent in an absentee ballot from his home – a right it said was extended to all citizens with "impediments". |
| "I don't understand anything. If they said #FidelCastro was at Hotel Nacional, why didn't he go to the Electoral College, to vote?" asked a dissident blogger, Yoani Sanchez, in a tweet. | "I don't understand anything. If they said #FidelCastro was at Hotel Nacional, why didn't he go to the Electoral College, to vote?" asked a dissident blogger, Yoani Sanchez, in a tweet. |
| Castro has now waded directly into the debate with a strident article that characteristically goes far beyond suggesting reports of his death have been somewhat exaggerated. | Castro has now waded directly into the debate with a strident article that characteristically goes far beyond suggesting reports of his death have been somewhat exaggerated. |
| "Although many people are taken in by the mass media, almost all of which are in the hands of the privileged and wealthy who publish this nonsense, fewer and fewer believe in them," he wrote, singling out the "Venezuelan doctor" and ABC for criticism. | "Although many people are taken in by the mass media, almost all of which are in the hands of the privileged and wealthy who publish this nonsense, fewer and fewer believe in them," he wrote, singling out the "Venezuelan doctor" and ABC for criticism. |
| Castro said Cuba had been the victim of a misinformation campaign for more than half a century, referring to the recent 50th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis. | Castro said Cuba had been the victim of a misinformation campaign for more than half a century, referring to the recent 50th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis. |
| Less characteristic was his self-effacing explanation for why he stopped writing a regular column. "I stopped writing Reflections because it is no longer my role to fill up newspaper pages that should be devoted to other national tasks," he said. | Less characteristic was his self-effacing explanation for why he stopped writing a regular column. "I stopped writing Reflections because it is no longer my role to fill up newspaper pages that should be devoted to other national tasks," he said. |
| He signed off with a final poke at those who reported his demise. "I don't even remember what it feels like to have a headache," he writes. "To prove how much they lie, see the photos accompanying this article." | He signed off with a final poke at those who reported his demise. "I don't even remember what it feels like to have a headache," he writes. "To prove how much they lie, see the photos accompanying this article." |
| The images are credited to his son Alex. One shows him raising his arm in an orchard, wearing a red and blue check shirt, a broad-brimmed straw hat and supported by a metal walking stick. In another, he is reading Friday's edition of Granma. | The images are credited to his son Alex. One shows him raising his arm in an orchard, wearing a red and blue check shirt, a broad-brimmed straw hat and supported by a metal walking stick. In another, he is reading Friday's edition of Granma. |
| On Monday morning, residents of Havana said they had also seen TV images of Castro at home. | On Monday morning, residents of Havana said they had also seen TV images of Castro at home. |
| "Last week, I thought he was dead. That's what everyone on the street was saying. But today on TV, he was very well," said Carmen Gonce, a retired journalist. "In Cuba, we are great fantasists. People say many things. Sometimes they are true. Sometimes they are not." | "Last week, I thought he was dead. That's what everyone on the street was saying. But today on TV, he was very well," said Carmen Gonce, a retired journalist. "In Cuba, we are great fantasists. People say many things. Sometimes they are true. Sometimes they are not." |
| Undead Again | Undead Again |
| Fidel Castro may well hold the world record for not dying in the face of rumours insisting otherwise. | Fidel Castro may well hold the world record for not dying in the face of rumours insisting otherwise. |
| In 1957, the New York Times ran a piece declaring: "Castro is alive." It followed a two-month silence by Castro, then described as the "rebel leader of Cuba's youth" against General Batista. "Because of the complete censorship, Havana and the other Cuban cities crackle with the most astonishing rumours. One constantly encouraged by the government has been that Fidel Castro is dead," the correspondent noted. | In 1957, the New York Times ran a piece declaring: "Castro is alive." It followed a two-month silence by Castro, then described as the "rebel leader of Cuba's youth" against General Batista. "Because of the complete censorship, Havana and the other Cuban cities crackle with the most astonishing rumours. One constantly encouraged by the government has been that Fidel Castro is dead," the correspondent noted. |
| The rumours have continued on and off ever since, rising in intensity as Castro aged. | The rumours have continued on and off ever since, rising in intensity as Castro aged. |
| In 2004, under the headline: "Rumours of Castro's death sweep Miami-Dade – again," the Miami Herald said the Cuban expatriate community was abuzz with rumours that Castro had died or suffered a stroke, following comments by the mayor of Bogota that he appeared to be "very sick" during their meeting. The Cuban American National Foundation said it received 100 calls about Castro's demise. | In 2004, under the headline: "Rumours of Castro's death sweep Miami-Dade – again," the Miami Herald said the Cuban expatriate community was abuzz with rumours that Castro had died or suffered a stroke, following comments by the mayor of Bogota that he appeared to be "very sick" during their meeting. The Cuban American National Foundation said it received 100 calls about Castro's demise. |
| "It's wishful thinking," the executive director, Joe Garcia, told the paper. "But it's got to be right some time." | "It's wishful thinking," the executive director, Joe Garcia, told the paper. "But it's got to be right some time." |
| In 2007, the blogger known as Perez Hilton claimed that an announcement about Castro's death would be released at 4pm on 24 August. The rumour was based on a drill by the Miami police department for the street parties they are expecting when Castro dies. The chief of police in Miami denied his forces were on alert. "Since I've been here, Fidel has died four times already," he told the Wall Street Journal. | In 2007, the blogger known as Perez Hilton claimed that an announcement about Castro's death would be released at 4pm on 24 August. The rumour was based on a drill by the Miami police department for the street parties they are expecting when Castro dies. The chief of police in Miami denied his forces were on alert. "Since I've been here, Fidel has died four times already," he told the Wall Street Journal. |
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