Fidel Castro revealed on Thurs-day he thought he was dying when he fell ill in July 2006, and was so worried about his legacy that he ordered last-minute editing of his memoirs even as doctors struggled to save his life.
"When I fell gravely ill the night of the 26th and dawn of the 27th of July, I thought that would be the end," the ailing 81-year-old wrote in an essay published on the front page of state newspapers.
"And while the doctors fought for my life, the head aide of the Council of State read at my urging the text and I dictated the necessary changes," he said, referring to a book of interviews with a French journalist.
The essay marked one of the few times Castro has acknowledged how close he came to death during his illness, and indicated his concern over how he will be remembered when he is gone.
The book written by Ignacio Ramonet, editor of Le Monde Diplomatique, is based on more than 100 hours of interviews with Castro. It was originally published in Spain, but an English version was released this month in the US as Fidel Castro: My Life.
Castro said he "almost didn't sleep" in the days before falling ill because he was working on the Ramonet book.
Castro has not been seen in public since July 31, 2006, when his secretary Carlos Valenciaga read a statement on government television that emergency intestinal surgery was forcing the island's unchallenged leader since 1959 to cede power to a provisional government headed by his younger brother Raul.
Though he stepped aside as president, Castro has retained his role as head of the island's supreme governing body, the Council of State.
A slate of newly elected Cuban lawmakers meets on Feb. 24 and will choose a new Council of State from among its ranks, which include both Castro brothers. Fidel Castro wrote in December that he had no intention of clinging to power or standing in the way of a new generation of leaders, but has not said whether he wants to remain head of the council or permanently retire.
He is recovering in an undisclosed location and his condition and exact ailment are carefully guarded secrets.
Castro has looked gaunt and frail, but also upbeat and lucid in occasional recent official videos and photographs. Life on the island has remained little changed since he stepped down.
Thursday's lengthy essay, dated Jan. 22, focused on a two-and-a-half hour meeting last week with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Absent was a recreation of Castro's scrawled signature, which has been printed at the end of other recent writings.
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
Armed with 4,000 eggs and a truckload of sugar and cream, French pastry chefs on Wednesday completed a 121.8m-long strawberry cake that they have claimed is the world’s longest ever made. Youssef El Gatou brought together 20 chefs to make the 1.2 tonne masterpiece that took a week to complete and was set out on tables in an ice rink in the Paris suburb town of Argenteuil for residents to inspect. The effort overtook a 100.48m-long strawberry cake made in the Italian town of San Mauro Torinese in 2019. El Gatou’s cake also used 350kg of strawberries, 150kg of sugar and 415kg of
RSS