Cuban TV shows first images of Castro in 6 months

HAVANA (AP) — Cuban television on Tuesday showed the first images of Fidel Castro in six months, with a silent video of the ailing revolutionary chatting in a garden with visiting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

The 81-year-old Castro looked thinner, and his hair and beard appeared much whiter, in the latest video, which did not include audio. But he nevertheless looked vigorous and animated as he talked with Chavez and younger brother Raul Castro. He wore a white track-suit jacket with red and blue trim.

The green of trees could be seen all around the trio in the video, but it was impossible to determine exactly where the meeting took place.

It was the second meeting in two days between the elder Castro and Chavez, who are close friends.

Chavez told reporters about the Tuesday meeting before boarding a flight back to Venezuela in the afternoon.

“With Fidel, we conversed nearly three hours yesterday, and almost two hours more today, walking in a garden,” Chavez told reporters in images broadcast on Venezuelan state television.