Castro speaks?

For the first time in under a year, Fidel Castro spoke about the illness that led him to transfer his power to his brother, Raúl. Below are excerpts of the editorial, as featured in this article in the Miami Herald that translated Castro's words.

''I make a parenthesis to broach a topic that has to do with my person, and I ask you to excuse me,'' he wrote. ``The [news] cables talk about an operation. My compatriots were not pleased, because on more than one occasion I explained that the recovery was not exempt from risk. In general, they spoke about a day on which I would appear in public, wearing my usual olive-green uniform.

``Well, it was not just one operation but several. Initially, there was no success and that led to the prolonged recovery.''

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In Wednesday night's missive, Castro said for the first time that he was fed by IV and catheters for ''many months'' but that he is back up to 176 pounds.

''For many months, I depended on intravenous lines and catheters through which I received an important part of my food, and I did not wish our people to experience unpleasant disappointments,'' he wrote. ``Today, I receive by mouth everything I need for my recovery. No danger is worse than those dangers related to one's age and health, which I abused during the hazardous times in which I lived.''