Chávez Claims Castro is 'battling for Life' Amid New Fears for Cuban Leader's Health

The Venezuelan president, Hugo Chávez, yesterday offered the bleakest medical update yet on Fidel Castro, saying he was "battling for his life". The pessimistic view came days after Mr Chávez, one of Castro's closest allies, had said his recovery was slow and not without risks.

Mr Chávez, attending a summit of Latin American leaders in Brazil, said he had spoken to the Cuban leader in the past few days. He compared his condition to the difficult days in the run-up to the 1959 revolution when he was a guerrilla leader in Cuba's Sierra Maestra. "Fidel is in the Sierra Maestra again, battling for his life," said Mr Chávez.

On Tuesday Mr Chávez sounded more hopeful, characterising his condition as "delicate", though even that assessment was less upbeat than his previous pronouncements.

His comments came after days of conflicting claims about the seriousness of Castro's condition. John Negroponte, the US director of national intelligence, claimed last week that Castro, 80, may have only "days or months" to live. Castro had an intestinal-related operation last year and has not been seen in public since.

But even if he dies soon, Washington will have little to celebrate, as he is expected to be replaced by his brother Raul, who was handed power when the Cuban president stood down from the leadership last July because of illness.

The Spanish daily, El Pais, said on Tuesday that hospital sources claimed he had suffered complications after undergoing three botched operations.

In a interview with Reuters, Jose Luis Garcia Sabrido, who examined Castro in Havana last year and remains part of his medical team, dismissed parts of the El Pais article as inaccurate. He said: "I have recent information that his recovery is slow but progressive."

Mr Chávez used basically the same words on Tuesday and also criticised the El Pais article as inaccurate.

Dr Garcia Sabrido, head of surgery at Madrid's Gregorio Maranon public hospital, added that the outlook for any 80-year-old with complications after surgery was always very serious.

"For a patient of his age, who has had complications after an operation, it's always going to be a general prognosis. Any imbalance can naturally cause complications. We don't have the ability to foretell what is going to happen with this, but we have the ability to observe what is happening."

He dismissed the claim that he had undergone three botched operations. "They are full of inaccuracies - they are fundamentally rumours, and in some extreme cases absolutely false," he said.

Dr Garcia Sabrido's prognosis has changed little since December 26 when, on his return from examining Castro, he said the leader did not have cancer and could even return to power.