MIAMI — Cuba watchers from Miami to Washington are on high alert this week, reacting to widely circulating but vague reports that Fidel Castro’s health had taken a serious turn for the worse.
While recognizing that this kind of speculation happens periodically — most recently in August 2007 — those who deal with Washington on a regular basis say authorities apparently aren’t taking it lightly.
“High sources in Washington are saying that reliable sources have said that he has taken gravely ill,” said the University of Miami’s Andy Gomez, who serves as an adviser to the U.S. Task Force on Cuba, an arm of the Brookings Institution. “They are monitoring this very closely, including looking for additional movements of security and troops. So far, none of this has happened.”
Castro’s continued absence from public view, an unusually long break from published essays, failure to schedule private chats with recent visiting presidents and veiled remarks by Venezuelan ally Hugo Chavez have elevated the unconfirmed reports of the Cuban leader’s pending death.
U.S. State Department officials acknowledged that they were aware of the reports on Castro’s health but denied they were monitoring troop activities on the island. However, the White House issued a statement Tuesday by President George W. Bush to the Cuban people, which also appeared to serve as a message for President-elect Barack Obama, who has said he would ease travel restrictions to the island.
Government sources in Cuba have said that Castro remained in control as recently as October, even making calls and barking orders to high-level officials. Sources on the island this week said Castro’s recent absence was because he was exhibiting memory loss and incoherence.
It’s been a month since Castro wrote a fresh newspaper column, known as Reflections, and almost two since his last published picture.
