Rumors of his death have been greatly exaggerated: Fidel Castro appeared on Cuban television Friday afternoon, alive and well — despite repeated claims that he was muerto made by blogger Perez Hilton.
Hilton, as you may recall, swore up and down that Castro was, in fact dead — something he was ABSOLUTELY SURE ABOUT thanks to his super-secret high-level "exclusive" and "impeccable" intelligence sources — you know, the ones that no other news organization had.
Castro has not been seen live for fourteen months and was last televised back in June. However, this video was clearly shot yesterday because, as reported by the Chicago Tribune, "Castro noted that the euro was trading at $1.41 and that the price of petroleum is $84 a barrel, proof that the interview was recorded earlier Friday." Castro also held up a copy of a number of books, including the just-released book by former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, "The Age of Turbulence" from which he read aloud. Upshot: Yep, he's alive!
Even so, today Hilton stubbornly stood by his story:
We've seen him wearing that outfit soooo many times. We're not going to believe he's still alive until he takes a nice stroll through Havana. Live. Not in some pre-taped video. And only if he's accompanied by an independent news organization, like the Associated Press.
Oh, sure, now he's picky about where he gets his news.
Update, and photo evidence: We just received this AP photo of Castro holding Greenspan's book, forwarded by HuffPo reporter Max Follmer. So! We shall see what Perez has to say about that. But also, look closer: There's a 30% off sticker on the cover. Castro loves sales! Capitalist sales! Viva la Cuba libre — and other things for libre, too! This may be the best photo of Castro taken ever. We can't wait to see what Perez Hilton draws on it.
Lucid Castro Talks on Cuba Television [Chicago Tribune]
Related:
Hey! It's Friday! Is Castro Dead Again? [ETP]
Castro Dead: Truth or Perez? [ETP]
Still Fighting The Fight:
Smoke & Mirrors [Perez Hilton]
Is Castro Dead??? [Perez Hilton]
Still Dead [Perez Hilton]