In this handout picture released on Friday, former Cuban president Fidel Castro on March 30 greets a member of a Venezuelan groupvisiting Cuba to take part in social and political activities. [Shanghai Daily via Agencies]
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In this handout picture released on Friday, former Cuban president Fidel Castro on March 30 greets a member of a Venezuelan groupvisiting Cuba to take part in social and political activities. [Shanghai Daily via Agencies] |
Former Cuban President Fidel Castro, 88, appeared in public "full of vitality" for the first time in more than a year on Monday, greeting a delegation of Venezuelans, official media reported yesterday.
It was his first known appearance outside his home since Cuba in December agreed to normalize relations with the United States, Castro's longtime adversary.
Official media showed images of a seated Castro shaking hands with the visiting Venezuelans through the window of his vehicle, wearing a baseball cap and a windbreaker.
There was no explanation why five days passed before the encounter was reported in Cuba.
He met with 33 Venezuelans, who were on a solidarity mission to Cuba. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, oil-rich Venezuela has become Cuba's closest ally and chief benefactor.
Castro impressed the Venezuelans with a firm, long handshake and a lucid mind, the Juventud Rebelde newspaper reported in a writer's first-person account.
"Fidel is full of vitality," the newspaper report said.
Castro's last public sighting was on January 8, 2014. The following December, US President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro agreed to re-establish diplomatic ties.