A Cuban-born anti-communist activist and author doesn't think anyone yearning for freedom for the Cuban people should be encouraged by the recent news about Fidel Castro.
Castro recently published an article in the state media, criticizing those who have spread intense rumors over the past week or so abput him being on his deathbed. The 86-year-old former dictator also published photos of himself standing outside in a checked shirt and cowboy hat, including one in which he is seen reading Friday's copy of the Communist Party's newspaper, Granma.
Castro's health is considered a matter of national security in Cuba, so when few details are released, it prompts regular rounds of speculation.
Humberto Fontova, a writer who fled Cuba in 1961, says Fidel Castro's younger brother Raul and a military junta have total control of the reins of power.
"Raul has been running the country, the nuts and bolts of the thing really for about 15 years informally," the author notes. "So [Fidel's] passing is not going to be really that big. You've got about 200,000 military personnel that run Cuba."
And Raul's health is apparently not an issue.
"He's 81 right now. They say he's supposedly an alcoholic and so forth, but he just seems to poke along," Fontova relays.
He further adds that the men running Cuba are in their 70s and 80s and have "a great racket going" that they do not want to give up.