Reuters AlertNet Lite - Nothing certain about Castro's health-US official

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Nothing certain about Castro's health-US official

13 Oct 2006 20:39:46 GMT
Source: Reuters

MIAMI, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Cuba keeps its secrets so well that Washington has no solid information about the health of veteran revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, a senior U.S. official said on Friday.

"We have no way of verifying any information," U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez told Reuters.

He spoke when asked about a report in Time magazine last week saying that many in the U.S. government are convinced Castro, 80, has terminal cancer.

It has been 2 1/2 months since Castro, who has ruled Cuba since 1959, handed over power to his brother for what was described as surgery to stop intestinal bleeding.

The unprecedented move triggered street celebrations in Miami, which is a hotbed of exiled opposition to Castro, and calls for an immediate transition to democracy on the Communist-ruled island.

Cuban officials are insisting that Castro is on the mend and vow he will return to the helm in Havana.

Gutierrez, a Cuban-American who co-chairs a commission created by President George W. Bush to push for democratic change in Cuba, called the Oct. 6 Time report "a piece of news that we take seriously."

But he stressed that it was unconfirmed, even if many U.S. officials believe Castro most likely will not come back into power.

"As you know, it's a very closed system, a very closed regime," he said of Cuba's government, which considers Washington its most implacable enemy.

"They have said that the health of Fidel Castro is a state secret, so it's very difficult to know."

Gutierrez spoke on the sidelines of a conference organized by Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, a Florida Republican, to discuss Cuba's future and democratic transition experiences in countries including Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic.

Despite upbeat talk about the winds of change some say are already sweeping over Cuba, Diaz-Balart said Castro would be the final arbiter of power on the island as long as he is alive.

"Fidel Castro has to die for the future of Cuba to begin," he said.

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Last updated:Fri Oct 13 20:44:30 2006