Castro undergoes surgery, temporarily cedes power to brother; condition unknown

HAVANA — Fidel Castro, who has wielded absolute power in Cuba for nearly half a century, remained out of sight Tuesday after undergoing intestinal surgery and temporarily turning over power to his brother Raul.

The surprise announcement that Castro had been operated on to repair a "sharp intestinal crisis with sustained bleeding" stunned Cubans on the island and in exile, and marked the first time that Castro, two weeks away from 80th birthday, had relinquished power in 47 years of rule.

On this island 90 miles south of Florida, people went about their business as normal on the streets of Havana early Tuesday, standing in line for buses to school and work, and jogging along the city's famous Malecon seawall.

Some government work centers called workers to participate in outdoor political gatherings later Tuesday to express their support for Fidel Castro.

The news came Monday night in a statement read on state television by his secretary, Carlos Valenciaga. The message said Castro's condition was apparently due to stress from a heavy work schedule during recent trips to Argentina and eastern Cuba. He did not appear on the broadcast.

Castro, who took control of Cuba in 1959, resisted repeated U.S. attempts to oust him and survived communism's demise elsewhere, also said in the statement that he was temporarily handing over leadership of the Communist Party to his younger brother.

Raul Castro, the defense minister who turned 75 in June, also did not appear on television and made no statement on his own. For decades the constitutional successor to his brother, Raul Castro has assumed a more public profile in recent weeks.

Fidel Castro last appeared in public Wednesday as he marked the 53rd anniversary of his July 26 barracks assault that launched the revolution. The Cuban leader seemed thinner than usual and somewhat weary during a pair of long speeches in eastern Cuba.

"The operation obligates me to undertake several weeks of rest," Castro's letter read. Extreme stress "had provoked in me a sharp intestinal crisis with sustained bleeding that obligated me to undergo a complicated surgical procedure."

The calm delivery of the announcement appeared to signal that there would be an orderly succession should Fidel Castro become permanently incapacitated.

White House spokesman Peter Watkins said U.S. authorities were monitoring the situation: "We can't speculate on Castro's health, but we continue to work for the day of Cuba's freedom."