Castro, Chavez smile for the photographers
Close allies celebrate leader’s 80th birthday.

HAVANA (AP) - Cuba’s Communist daily published new photographs of ailing leader Fidel Castro today, showing him in bed on his 80th birthday during a visit with his brother Raul and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

The official Granma newspaper released the seven photographs a day after the Communist Youth newspaper ran the first images of Castro since he announced two weeks ago that he had undergone intestinal surgery and was temporarily ceding power to his brother.

In the pictures, Castro is in bed, wearing what looks like a red sweatshirt. In an eighth photograph, Raul Castro is shown embracing Chavez when he arrived yesterday in Havana. It was Raul’s debut appearance as acting president.

Scores of people swarmed Havana’s newspaper stands this morning, buying copies of the daily to see the pictures.

"They look very good to me," 79-year-old parking attendant Rene Vicente Rodriguez said of the photographs. "The people love him, and we are going to have Fidel for a while."

News of Castro’s illness has made Cubans uneasy about the future, but upbeat statements from government officials and two days of photographs have helped calm a public gradually facing up to the mortality of the island’s longtime leader.

The photos seemed designed to prove that Castro was recovering.

"It seems like he is getting better. He’s a strong and healthy person, and everyone wants him to get well," 43-year-old cleaning woman Angela Ramirez said.

Yamilca Peraza, 31, said: "It’s very good he’s getting better because we don’t want him to die; we want him to keep pushing ahead for many more years."

"An Unforgettable Afternoon Among Brothers," Granma said of the yesterday afternoon visit by Chavez, Castro’s closest friend and political ally in Latin America.

The lead photo shows Chavez and Raul Castro standing at Fidel’s bedside - all three smiling - next to a large portrait of the Cuban leader on an easel. The newspaper said Raul gave Chavez the portrait, which formerly hung in his office and was painted in 1959 by Mexican artist David Alfaro Siqueiros.

Castro and Chavez shared "more than three hours of emotional exchange, anecdotes, laughs, photos, gifts, a frugal snack and the happiness of close friendship," Granma said.

The images indicate real affection between the men, with them smiling at each other, clasping hands and in one, drinking what looks like a milkshake.

Cuban officials have not disclosed where Castro is being treated.

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