Andrew DuBois

Staff Writer

A younger Fidel Castro is seen looking stern in his portrait photograph.

Photo courtesy biography.com

    Speculation over the health of Cuba’s former leader heightened earlier this month when reports began circling around the internet that Fidel Castro had passed away. Castro has not been seen in public since March when he met with the pope.

    An article published early last month by the Cuban state-run media attempted to calm the speculation with an article supposedly written by Castro. The article was accompanied by a picture of Castro walking in his garden looking at the state-run newspaper.

    In the article Castro addressed the rumors by stating that he can’t even remember what a headache was. Workers at a state-run hotel that Castro was supposed to have visited were quoted in the article saying, “"He had good color. ... He was happy, with a permanent smile on his face, and talking about a lot of things,"

    In 2008 Castro retired from power and was succeeded by his brother. It is speculated that this is due to Castro never fully recovering from a surgery performed in 2006.