Via WaPo: Cuba TV Shows Castro Meeting With Chavez:
Cuban state television Tuesday showed a video of a healthier looking Fidel Castro meeting with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and saying his recovery was “far from a lost battle,” in the first images of the ailing leader in three months.Castro stood and appeared alert in the 10-minute video clip, which state TV said was shot during Chavez’s previously unannounced visit to Havana on Monday.
[...]
Castro looked heavier than in previous images that showed him much more thin and frail. Dressed in a red, white and blue track suit, the 80-year-old was shown sitting and drinking juice.
The whole situation is such a flashback to the old Soviet Union when information about such matters was a closely guarded secret and the story (if one was even allowed to form) was heavily managed by the state.
The very fact that the Cuban government and Chavez run around trying to prove that Castro is strong and/or using lofty rhetoric about Fidel simply reinforces the staged nature of the information.
From the BBC version of the story: Cuban TV shows ‘stronger’ Castro:
The pictures show Mr Castro drinking orange juice and joking with Mr Chavez.“As I have said, this is far from being a lost battle,” he says to the Venezuelan leader, whose visit had not been announced.
Mr Chavez replies that this is a battle that will be won.
The two wrapped up their meeting with the words: “We will triumph. Fatherland, socialism or death.“
[...]
Last week he showed a letter signed by Fidel Castro which he said was proof that the Cuban president was recovering.
All of this underscores the deep association between Castro and the Cuban state.
