The Castro Diet

Watch too much of the Pan American Games.

HAVANA - Convalescing Fidel Castro said in an essay Tuesday that he has been so engrossed with Cuba's performance at the Pan American Games in Brazil that he forgets to eat and take his medicine.

"I hardly take my eyes off the television set," Castro wrote in the latest of a series of essays he has penned in recent months. "Sometimes I forget the hour of some meal, or a pill."

Castro mentioned watching Cuba's baseball team and the women's volleyball team in its game against the United States "in which our players did everything perfect."

He also praised the women's and men's handball teams — "What speed, what force!" he wrote — and said he was absorbed by Cuban competitors in weightlifting, rowing, cycling and women's gymnastics. The government e-mailed the essay to international reporters in Havana.

Cuba has won 20 medals so far in the games, including nine gold. The competition being held in Rio de Janeiro involves countries in the Western hemisphere.

Although senior Cuban officials have said that Castro is recovering well from intestinal surgery nearly a year ago, they no longer insist he will resume full governance of the country.

I don't expect Castro to ever resume his official duties. In all probability he still wields power behind the scenes. Despite the hopes of some of the Cuban-American bloggers in South Florida, I don't expect quick change in Cuba after Fidel's death. We can still pray however that Cuban people will soon gain their freedom.

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