Castro on mend, reports say

HAVANA – Cuba’s vice president said Sunday Fidel Castro would return to work in a few weeks after intestinal surgery that forced him to hand over power temporarily to his younger brother.

Venezuela’s president said Castro was out of bed and talking following his surgery as messages wishing the Cuban leader a quick recovery poured in from Latin America’s leading leftists and Elian Gonzalez.

Vice President Carlos Lage, in Bolivia to attend the country’s constitutional assembly, was asked by reporters when Castro would be back at work.

“In a few weeks,” he replied.

Cuban officials have provided no details and released no pictures of Castro since his surgery was announced last Monday – fueling speculation around the world about his condition. His brother Raul Castro, the defense minister, also has not been seen in public since the announcement.

“How are you, Fidel?” Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said during his weekly TV and radio program, suggesting he believed the Cuban leader was watching. “We have reliable information of your quick and notable recuperation.”

“Fidel Castro, a hug for you, friend and comrade, and I know you are getting better,” Chavez said.

Talking by phone with Bolivian President Evo Morales later during the program, Chavez said that Castro was bouncing back quickly.

“This morning I learned that he’s very well, that he is already getting out of bed, he’s talking more than he should – because he talks a lot, you know. He has sent us greetings,” Chavez said.

Morales said he was glad to learn of Castro’s recovery, and “what’s left is for him to be incorporated into the battle of his country” again. Saying Castro was like an “older brother,” Morales added, “We hope to see our friend Fidel soon.”

Before Castro fell ill, Morales had promised to travel to Havana for Castro’s 80th birthday on Aug. 13 and bring him a cake made from the flour of coca leaves.

Elian Gonzalez, the Cuban boy at the center of a dramatic international custody battle six years ago between his relatives in Miami and his father in Cuba, joined the list of people wishing Castro a swift recovery.

“We send you this letter to let you know that we are worried about your health,” Elian Gonzalez, now 12, wrote to Castro along with his half-siblings and cousins. The letter was published Sunday in the Communist Youth newspaper Juventud Rebelde.