Castro's sister dismisses rumors

[Judi Lynn]

Castro's sister dismisses rumors
Posted 8/3/2006 10:25 PM ET

By Laura Parker, USA TODAY

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Juanita Castro Ruz, the estranged younger sister of ailing Fidel Castro, said Thursday she has been told the longtime dictator is recovering from surgery and "doing well."

Juanita Castro, 73, spoke from her elegantly furnished home in suburban Miami. She said she had been on the phone to family and friends in Havana since the Cuban government's announcement late Monday that her brother had emergency intestinal surgery.

Juanita, a pharmacy owner who fled Cuba four decades ago, would not reveal how she learned of her brother's condition, but said: "The surgery was a major surgery. He's doing OK. He's out of intensive care, and he's in his own room."

Castro's government has said little about his condition beyond a report read on Cuba's state-run television station Tuesday night that was attributed to the dictator. In it, he described his health as "stable."
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http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-08-03-castro-sister_x.htm