Havana - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Wednesday
that he had seen for himself the 'almost total recovery' of Cuban
leader Fidel Castro.
Left-wing populist Chavez met with Castro in Havana on Tuesday and
attended a cultural event with interim Cuban leader Raul Castro, who
temporarily took over power when his brother underwent intestinal
surgery on July 31, 2006.
'It is not easy to come to a public event in Havana without Fidel,
Chavez said. 'Only the realization ... of his almost total recovery,
of his state of mind, of his everlasting intelligence, youth for
ideas and reflection already cause relief, joy and a lot of optimism
in my soul.'
Chavez said Castro could be ready to return to work soon, though
he was not trying to rush the Cuban president.
'I think the time is coming to put on one's uniform,' Chavez said
of Fidel, 80. 'The days will come and he will say it himself.'
The Venezuelan president arrived Tuesday in Havana on a surprise
visit at the invitation of Castro himself. The two leaders met for
six hours, Chavez said.
'We almost got close to our average in meetings, seven or eight
hours. We could have kept going, but it was enough,' Chavez said.
No footage of the meeting has been aired.
The Venezuelan president - one of the main allies of the Cuban
government - last visited Cuba on January 29. Bolivian President Evo
Morales also visited Castro last week, although no footage of the
meeting was shown.
Last week Fidel Castro appeared in his first televised interview
during his 10-month recovery. The elderly Cuban leader was last seen
in public on July 26, 2006.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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