Cuba: Castro to return 'in a few weeks'
(AP)
Updated: 2006-08-07 19:19 Morales, a leftist elected in December as Bolivia's first Indian president,
said he was glad to learn of Castro's recovery and that "what's left is for him
to be incorporated into the battle of his country" again. Morales said Castro
was like an "older brother."
Get-well wishes poured in from leftists across the hemisphere.
Former Nicaraguan President and Sandinista revolution leader Daniel Ortega
arrived in Havana late Saturday. "I am sure that we will soon have Fidel
resuming his functions and leading his people," Ortega said.
Colombia's largest rebel group also expressed its solidarity with the Cuban
leader. "We hope you'll recover in the shortest time possible," the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia said in a statement.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday the United States wanted to
help Cubans prepare for democracy but was not contemplating an invasion of the
island in the wake of Castro's illness.
"The notion that somehow the United States is going to invade Cuba, because
there are troubles in Cuba, is simply far-fetched," Rice told NBC News. "The
United States wants to be a partner and a friend to the Cuban people as they
move through this period of difficulty and as they move ahead. But what Cuba
should not have is the replacement of one dictator by another."
Cuban authorities have beefed up security by mobilizing citizen defense
militias, increasing street patrols and ordering decommissioned military
officers to check in daily.
Roman Catholic Cardinal Jaime Ortega, the island's top churchman, called on
parishioners Sunday to pray for Castro's health, peace on the island and
fraternity among all Cubans, both here and abroad.
"We pray for the fatherland, for Cuba, and those who are leading it," Ortega
told reporters after Sunday Mass at the cathedral in Old Havana.
Outside another church, a group of political prisoners' wives known as the
Ladies in White held their weekly silent march without interruption by
authorities.
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