Cuban leader Fidel Castro is recovering from surgery and will return to office soon, the health minister said this evening as uncertainty grew over the future of the island he has ruled for nearly half a century.
"We know Comandante Fidel will recover soon and will be back with us soon," Jose Ramon Balaguer said during a visit to Guatemala. State media said earlier that Castro's brother Raul had firm control of the communist-ruled country while he was in hospital.
Fidel Castro (79) handed over power temporarily to his younger brother on Monday after surgery for gastrointestinal bleeding. The news has created a tide of speculation over whether his rigid rule was about to end.
It was the first time since his 1959 guerrilla victory that Castro, one of the most iconic and controversial world leaders of the past 50 years, had delegated power to anyone else.
In Cuba, where he has dominated almost every aspect of life, and across the Florida Straits in Miami, home to many thousands of exiles who have yearned for his demise for decades, people have anxiously awaited developments. The Roman Catholic Church meanwhile called on Cubans to pray for Castro's recovery.
Mr Balaguer's assurances followed a dearth of information over the state of affairs. Neither Castro brother has been seen in public since the veteran revolutionary's surgery was announced.
The Communist Party newspaper Granma said today that Raul Castro was "firmly at the helm" of the nation and the armed forces.
The newspaper, voice of the state which stifles independent press, also rejected calls from US President George W. Bush for a transition to multi-party democracy. Many Cubans wondered when Raul (75) would speak publicly. "Raul will have to appear at some point.
That is what we are all waiting for," said Antonio Cabana, a worker in Havana. The only sign of him was a photo on Granma's front-page of his arrest after a famed guerrilla assault on the Moncada garrison in Santiago in 1953 and a story recounting his heroism.
Analysts said this could be a tactic to build up his image before any further moves. Cuba's leaders may feel that if Raul Castro appeared too early it might touch off panic among Cubans after so many years under Fidel, they said. Some Cubans already felt the Fidel Castro era may be ending.
President Bush last night called on Cubans to work for democratic change in their communist-ruled country in a call for change after Fidel Castro ceded power to his brother because of illness.
Mr Bush's first public statement since the temporary hand-over to Raul Castro on Monday was bound to anger Cuba's Communist Party, which has long accused the United States of interference in Cuban affairs.
Mr Bush promised full and unconditional support to those on the Caribbean island seeking democracy.
"The United States is absolutely committed to supporting the Cuban people's aspirations for democracy and freedom. We have repeatedly said that the Cuban people deserve to live in freedom," Mr Bush said in a statement issued from Texas.