Fidel Castro has made a rare public appearance at his 90th birthday gala – rubbishing rumours that he had died.
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In a letter published by the state-run newspaper, Castro thanked his countrymen for the well wishes and reminisced his early days as a youth in eastern Cuba, touched upon his father’s death and also criticised Obama.
In the letter, Castro thanked the Cuban people and criticized U.S. President Barack Obama for not apologizing to the people of Japan during his recent visit to Hiroshima. However, Castro defiantly wrote after Obama’s visit to Havana in March: “We don’t need anything from the empire”.
Image provided by Cubadebate shows Cuba’s revolutionary leader Fidel Castro (C), alongside Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (2-R), enjoying a gala in honor of his 90th birthday at the Karl Marx Theater in Havana, capital of Cuba, on August 13, 2016.
State media showed images of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro arriving in Havana and a tribute was planned at a Havana theatre for Sunday evening.
Cuban intelligence services claim Mr Castro faced 634 plots between 1958 and 2000, with some reportedly involving poisoned or explosive cigars.
After the USA president visited Cuba back in March for what was seen by some as a giant step toward rebuilding diplomatic relations between the two countries, which have been at odds since Fidel took control in 1959, the elder Castro soon took to Cuba’s state-run newspaper, Granma, expressing his cynicism toward the visit.
Fidel Castro turns 90 today and thousands of Cubans have already gathered to celebrate.
Mr. Castro, who took power in Cuba’s 1959 revolution and ruled for almost half a century, was often seen puffing on his favoured, long and thin Lancero model until he quit in 1985.
Government ministries have held small musical performances and photo exhibitions that pay tribute to the former head of state.
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Mr. Castro last appeared in public in April, closing the twice-a-decade congress of the Communist Party with a call for Cuba to stick to its socialist ideals amid ongoing normalisation with the U.S. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Cubans are migrating to the United States, hollowing out the ranks of highly educated professionals.
