Fidel Castro is still "very sick" but no longer in intensive care, and he is expected to recover and take back the reins of Cuba, his sister Juanita said in Florida on Wednesday. Fidel Castro fell ill earlier this week, requiring him to undergo emergency intestinal surgery. He handed over the communist government's to his brother Raul, who is vice president and defense minister. It was the first time Fidel Castro had ceded control of Cuba in 47 years. Cuban television reported Tuesday that the Cuban leader was in "good spirits." But his hospitalization has nonetheless spurred a deluge of speculation, some saying that Castro is on his deathbed, others saying he's already dead. But Juanita Castro says her brother is "doing better" and she expects that Raul's executive appointment will be temporary. "He's very sick, but he's not dead," she said. "He is very sick, but he has left the ICU." She hasn't spoken to Castro since 1963, the year before she emigrated to Miami. But Juanita Castro said her information about her brother is accurate. "I have my way to know everything -- not everything, but some very important things," she was quoted as saying by CNN.
