Fidel Spotted Strolling Around Havana

Residents see frail Comadante in public for first time in years

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 3, 2009 6:04 AM CST

(Newser) – Residents of Havana say they’ve spotted the unmistakable figure of El Comadante shuffling around the city in recent weeks, the New York Times reports. Fidel Castro hasn’t been seen in public since undergoing emergency surgery in 2006, and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez hailed the jaunts as "a miracle," though experts believe the former Cuban president is still gravely ill.

[Images (4)]

[Quotes (2)]

Children wave flags on Havana's Malecon avenue on the anniversary of Fidel Castro's triumphant march into Havana when he defeated Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

A woman walks down a street bearing graffiti in reference to Cuba's President Raul Castro and Fidel Castro in Havana, Monday, Dec. 29, 2008. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano)

Fidel Castro poses for a photo during a meeting with Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez in Havana, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2009. (AP Photo/Argentinean Presidential Press Office)

A man holds a photograph of Cuban leader Fidel Castro before a ceremony in honor of late Argentine-born revolutionary hero Ernesto "Che" Guevara in Havana, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano)

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God knows, if I were in his condition I'd want a breath of fresh air. But I don't believe there’s any reason to think his health is rebounding. He's still severely, gravely ill. - Brian Latell, former CIA analyst and author of After Fidel

Fidel went out and they saw him, Fidel walking in the streets in Havana. The people cried. - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez

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Fidel Spotted Strolling Around Havana