Fidel Castro appears in public

October 22, 2012 08:53

Fidel Castro has appeared in public for the first time in months, a top hotel executive said, challenging persistent rumours that the ageing revolutionary is near death.

The 86-year-old retired leader dropped off a Venezuelan guest at the Hotel Nacional yesterday afternoon, then stayed to chat with hotel staff, commercial director Yamila Fuster said.

"Fidel Castro was here yesterday, he brought a guest and spoke to workers and hotel leaders for 30 minutes," Fuster told The Associated Press. She said she was not present but that the news was being released officially by the state-owned establishment.

"They told me he looked very good. He was wearing a checked shirt and a hat," she said.

Fuster would not release the name of the Venezuelan guest, but witnesses at the hotel say former Venezuelan Vice President Elias Jaua is staying there. A car with Venezuelan diplomatic plates was parked today outside the hotel, and Cuban officials were seen carrying a photo album similar to ones the government gives as gifts to distinguished guests, normally filled with official pictures.

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