Castro Essay Is Silent on His Health

HAVANA, Aug. 26 -- Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro signed a lengthy essay published Sunday saluting a Cuban political figure but giving no hint of how he is feeling, at a time of persistent rumors of his death.

Castro, 81, has not been seen in public in more than a year and has not appeared in official photographs or video footage since taping an interview with Cuban state television June 5.

The lack of images has fueled speculation among the Cuban exile community in Miami and elsewhere that Castro might have died. He announced on July 31, 2006, that he had undergone emergency intestinal surgery and was temporarily ceding power to his younger brother Raúl.

Officials in Havana have refused to speak about Castro's condition, but Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque told reporters in Brazil last week that "Fidel is doing very well and is disciplined in his recovery process." He insisted that Castro maintains "permanent" contact with top government officials.

Castro's essay, the latest in dozens of "Reflections by the Commander in Chief" columns he has published several times a week since late March, was signed Saturday evening and appeared in the Communist Youth newspaper Juventud Rebelde on Sunday.

Verbose but clearly stated and easy to follow, Castro wrote of Eduardo Chibás, the president of Cuba's Orthodox Party, who was born 100 years ago this month. Chibás campaigned against corruption that plagued Cuba before Castro and his band of rebels toppled dictator Fulgencio Batista in January 1959.

Castro listed political events that linked his younger years with Chibás, who shot himself during a radio broadcast in 1951, a year before Batista seized power in a coup. At Chibás's funeral, a young Castro jumped atop the grave to denounce the government.

There was no hint of trouble over the weekend in Havana. The official news media was dominated by stories of preparations by Cuban officials for the new school year, and by news from Venezuela and Iraq.

Rumors of Castro's death are a staple in Miami. But their frequency has intensified in recent days, after his 81st birthday came and went Aug. 13 without any pictures, letters or recordings from him released by the government.