Cuba tones down Castro’s positive words on Chavez health

HAVANA, (Reuters) – More than a week after former leader Fidel Castro was quoted in Cuban media as saying Venezuela’s cancer-stricken President Hugo Chavez was “much better,” the Communist Party newspaper published a different, toned down version of his comments yesterday. The transcript n Granma, said to have been “reviewed and updated” by Castro, left out the more positive assessments of Chavez’ condition, but did say he was recovering. Castro, who spoke with reporters when he went to vote in Cuba’s National Assembly election, was quoted in Feb. 4 news accounts as telling reporters he got daily reports on Chavez and that he was doing “much better, recovering” two months after undergoing a six-hour operation in Havana. “It has been a tough fight but he is improving,” Castro said. “We have to cure him. Chavez is very important for his country and for Latin America.”