Cuba published a photo Sunday of a standing, smiling Fidel Castro looking heavier but still gaunt as he met with Angola’s president, the first head of state to see the ailing 81-year-old since June.
The picture, which appeared on the front page of Communist Party youth newspaper Juventud Rebelde, shows Castro in a track suit, athletic pants and tennis shoes. The Cuban leader appears to have gained weight and wears a warm half-smile as he shakes hands with Angolan President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos, who has been in Cuba since Thursday on an official visit.
The image was released two days after Castro gave a surprise hourlong interview on state TV, during which he answered rumors about his death that have swirled recently in the U.S. by saying simply, “well, here I am.”
Sunday’s photo was the first time Castro has been seen standing in months. He stayed seated during the interview, which aired Friday evening just hours after officials said it was taped.
“I could see him recuperating,” Dos Santos told Cuba’s state news agency, Prensa Latina. “He’s strong, with good enthusiasm.”
Castro has not appeared in public since announcing on July 31, 2006, that emergency intestinal surgery was forcing him to step down in favor of a provisional government headed by his younger brother, Raul.
