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Castro Brushes Off Death Rumors, Proves He's Still Alive With Pictures

Fidel Castro.
Granma
Fidel Castro.

The lead story on the digital version of Cuba's communist newspaper Granma puts to rest the death rumors that have plagued Fidel Castro for weeks.

They show Castro, not in a military uniform and not in the track suit, which he has so often donned the past few years, but in a plaid red and blue shirt and a straw sun hat. They show Castro looking at some plants and perhaps most importantly looking at a recent edition of Granma.

In the accompanying column, Castro writes in his usual folksy manner. He mocks the "imperialist propaganda" for trying to kill him.

He's not dead, he says. Not only is he not dead, but he's thriving.

He writes in part:

"I stopped publishing my column Reflexiones because, truthfully, it's not my role to take up pages of our press, which should be used for other things required by our country.

"What birds of ill omens! I can't even remember what a headache is. To prove what liars they are, I gift you the pictures that accompany this article."

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Eyder Peralta
Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.
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