'The last moment of President Fidel Castro is still a long way off,' Ricardo Alarcon said.
On Monday, the 79-year-old Castro issued an official announcement that he had acute intestinal bleeding and had to undergo a 'complicated surgical operation.'
In the absence of further official comment, wild speculation filled the airwaves Tuesday, with a US senator wondering if Castro had died and Cuban exiles in Florida celebrating the possible demise of the communist leader.
'Imperialism does not recognize the greatness of Fidel Castro. He will fight until the last possible moment, although this last moment is still quite far off,' Alarcon said, according to Cuba media reports.
Alarcon said Castro was recovering from delicate surgery and needed rest. But he noted that before handing power over to Raul Castro, 75, Fidel had issued orders from his sick bed that carefully delegated his responsibilities for education, health and energy to others, in order to fend off possible aggression by the United States.
The move marked the first time that Castro has not held the reins of power in the one-party communist state since the 1959 Cuban revolution.
Alarcon, a member of the politburo of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), lashed out at the large celebrations on the streets of Miami in southern Florida, heavily populated with Cubans who fled Castro's regime just 150 kilometres across the Caribbean. Many hoped that he would soon die and others speculated that the Cuban government might be hiding his death.
Alarcon said he was sickened by the demonstrators, whom he called 'mercenaries and terrorists.'
'The (Cuban exiles) believe that they can just pack their suitcases and return to Cuba, just like they have done so often in the past - with no success,' he said ironically.
Before Alarcon's remarks, the only indication that Castro was recovering well from the operation and could be expected back at work within weeks came from closely-allied Venezuela and its President Hugo Chavez.
Western diplomats and other foreigners said that life continued as normal in Cuba throughout Tuesday. Most people went to work. Some attended rallies of solidarity with their ill leader and his brother.
'He' may not go, he has to remain with us,' said one young girl interviewed by CNN en espanol.
The United States said it will not talk to Raul Castro to explore whether he wants to bring change to the communist island while filling in for his ailing brother, saying the brother had imposed himself on the Cuban people, 'much the same as what his brother did.'
US President George W Bush in 2003 set up a commission to explore ways to hasten the end of the Castro regime, plan for assisting a transition to democracy and address the humanitarian needs of Cubans if the regime collapses.
Amidst the well wishes and worries over Castro's serious illness, a top Spanish official called Tuesday for Cuba's future to be determined by Cuban citizens.
Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega, first deputy prime minister of the Spanish government, indicated Tuesday in Colombia that any move toward democracy in the communist island country would 'have the backing of the international community.'
The health of Castro, whose 80th birthday is August 13, has been the subject of frequent speculation in recent years. Castro proposed that his birthday celebrations by postponed until December 2, the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the 1956 uprising.
Raul Castro, who holds high offices including the defence ministry, has been his brother's chosen successor for decades and, according to the Cuban Constitution, is first in the line of presidential succession.
Not much is known about Raul Castro, but he clearly lacks the magnetism of his sibling. A widely cited quote from him - curious for a country's defence minister - is 'Beans are more important than canons.'
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