Cuban President Fidel Castro is back “in charge” after undergoing intestinal surgery in July, his friend and protege Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday.
An intestinal ailment has kept the Communist leader out of the public eye for the past nine months, sparking speculation about whether he will return to power, which he ceded temporarily to his brother Raul on July 31.
“He is charge, he is in charge, he is doing a lot of thinking,” Chavez said in a speech at a Latin American summit.
Chavez has already said that Castro, 80, has taken back much of his governing role informally.
Bolivian President Evo Morales has said he is sure Castro will attend a May Day parade in Havana, but Chavez said he did not know whether his mentor would be there.
