Fidel appears in public and defends Venezuela.
Former Cuban president Fidel Castro, who is 88 years old, made a public appearance after 14 months, according to the official newspaper "Granma"; the Cuban leader met with 33 of the 155 members of the "2nd Bolívar-Martí Solidarity Flight," a Venezuelan delegation participating in political and social activities in Cuba until Sunday; at the meeting, according to "Granma," Fidel "expressed his concern for the battle Venezuela is facing to have its sovereignty and integrity respected."
247 with Agencies - Former Cuban president Fidel Castro, who is 88 years old, made a public appearance after 14 months, according to the official newspaper "Granma," participating in a meeting with young Venezuelans at a school in western Havana.
The meeting took place on Monday (30), but was revealed to the press only on Friday night (3). Fidel met with 33 of the 155 members of the "2nd Bolívar-Martí Solidarity Flight", a Venezuelan delegation that is participating in political and social activities in Cuba until Sunday.
The newspaper published four nearly identical photos of the meeting, in which Fidel, dressed in a blue and white tracksuit, is seen sitting inside a van that took him to the school. He greets the visitors through the vehicle's window.
Since stepping down from power in 2006 for health reasons, the leader of the Cuban revolution has made few public appearances. The last one was in January 2014, when he participated in the opening of an art gallery.
His long period of seclusion led to rumors that he had died or was suffering from serious health problems.
According to Granma, during the meeting, Fidel "expressed his concern about the battle Venezuela is facing to have its sovereignty and integrity respected."
He was referring to the sanctions imposed by the United States on the South American country. "We need to work quickly and gather many signatures for President Obama so that Venezuela is no longer categorized as a threat."