CUBA: Anxious to reassure Cubans after intestinal surgery forced him temporarily to cede power, Fidel Castro has released a statement saying his health is stable, his spirits good and the defence of the island guaranteed.
His brother and designated successor, Raul Castro, however, remained silent and out of sight, issuing no statements of his own, while the focus of state media remained solely on Fidel, who has ruled continuously for 47 years.
"Fidel, Get Well" read a front page headline in the Communist Party daily Granma. "The Revolution Will Continue While Fidel Recovers", proclaimed Juventud Rebelde, the communist youth newspaper.
The European Union forwarded a get well wish to the Cuban leader. "We wish that President Fidel Castro and Cuban democracy a quick recovery," said EU spokesman Pietro Petrucci in Brussels.
Relations between Havana and the EU have been icy over the past few years, with Brussels stepping up its criticism of human rights violations. The EU last year lifted sanctions - imposed in 2003 after Cuban authorities detained 75 dissidents - which had included blacking high-level talks with Cuban officials.
The Castro statement expressed gratitude for the good wishes he received from leaders and supporters around the world and called on Cubans to remain calm as they carried out their daily routines.
"The country is prepared for its defence," he said, apparently to assure Cubans the island was safe from potential US attack.
The leaders of China, Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia and Mexico were among many wishing Castro well. But in Washington politicians were already speculating about a post-Castro Cuba. In Miami, Cuban exiles celebrated in the streets - demonstrations Cuban parliamentary speaker Ricardo Alarcon called "vomit-provoking acts" led by "mercenaries and terrorists".
Dr Castro (79), the world's longest-serving head of government, acknowledged that his operation was serious, saying: "I cannot make up positive news." But he said his health was "stable" and "as for my spirits, I feel perfectly fine". He apologised for not giving more details, but said the threat posed to his government by the US meant his health must be treated as "a state secret".
Mr Alarcon dismissed rumours among exiles that Dr Castro was dead, telling the government's Prensa Latina news service that the Cuban leader's "final moment is still very far away".
The main newscast on state-run television yesterday ran a string of man-in-the-street interviews with Cubans wishing Dr Castro well and professing confidence in the revolution's staying power.
Cubans were stunned when Dr Castro's secretary read a letter on television on Monday night announcing their leader was temporarily turning over power to his 75-year-old brother Raul, the island's defence minister and his designated successor.
In the letter, Dr Castro, who turns 80 on August 13th, said doctors operated to repair a "sharp intestinal crisis with sustained bleeding". Mr Alarcon said Dr Castro made a point of delegating specific responsibilities to his brother and six other leading Cuban officials when his doctors told him to rest - a decision he said was made by a man "completely conscious and able to adopt these resolutions".
Doctors in the US said Dr Castro's condition could be life-threatening but since the details of his symptoms were not released it was hard to say what caused the bleeding: severe ulcers, a colon condition called diverticulosis or even cancer as an outside possibility.
Dr Castro seemed optimistic that with time he would be able to resume his public role, asking in his letter that celebrations scheduled for his 80th birthday be postponed until December 2nd, the 50th anniversary of Cuba's Revolutionary Armed Forces.
He has been in power since his revolution drove out dictator Fulgencio Batista on January 1st, 1959.