Castro battling cancer and unlikely to live through 2007, say US officials

THE UNITED States government believes Fidel Castro’s health is deteriorating and that the Cuban dictator is unlikely to live through 2007.

That dire view was reinforced last week when Cuba’s foreign minister backed away from his earlier prediction that the ailing Mr Castro would return to power by early December.

“It’s a subject on which I don’t want to speculate,” Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque told The Associated Press in the Cuban capital, Havana.

US government officials say there is still some mystery about Mr Castro’s diagnosis, his treatment and how he is responding.

But these officials believe the 80-year-old leader has cancer of the stomach, colon or pancreas.

He appeared weakened and thinner in official state photos released late last month, and it is considered unlikely that he will return to power or survive through the end of next year, said the US Government and defence officials.

They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly about the politically sensitive topic.

With chemotherapy, it is thought Mr Castro may live up to 18 months, said the defence official.

Without it, expected survival would drop significantly, to three months to eight months.

American officials will not talk publicly about how they glean clues to Mr Castro’s health. But US spy agencies include physicians who study pictures, video, public statements and other information coming out of Cuba.

A planned celebration of Mr Castro’s 80th birthday next month is expected to draw international attention. The Cuban leader had planned to attend the public event, which already had been postponed once from his August 13 birthday.