He's dead again

The latest Fidel Castro rumors.

MIAMI (AP) -- The official word in Cuba is that Fidel Castro is still very much alive -- but you'd never know that on the streets of Miami.

Premature rumors of Castro's death are a staple in this heavily Cuban-exile city. But their frequency has intensified in recent days after his 81st birthday came and went Aug. 13 with neither pictures, letters nor recordings from him.

Friday, the rumors were pushed into overdrive by a meeting of local officials to go over their plans for when Castro really dies and a road closure in the Florida Keys that was actually due to a police standoff.

A circular game ensued with radio stations reporting the rumors, citing TV stations, which cited the rumors on the street.

Sandra Avila, an executive at a design firm in Miami's Coconut Grove neighborhood, said clients and vendors called all day asking about the rumors.

"I've heard the rumors before, but there's a different feeling this time, like this time it's real," she said.

The rumor mill took off a year ago when the Cuban leader announced he would turn power over to his brother Raul because of an intestinal illness. Since then, Castro, who has ruled Cuba for nearly 48 years, has not been seen in public.

Much of the rumors may be due to Val at Babalu who wrote-

BREAKING: FIDEL CASTRO IS DEAD
My cellphone has not stopped ringing for the past ten minutes. Various sources inform that an announcement will come within the next few minutes from the Cuban government on Cuban TV and media. Stay tuned and we'll see if we've been manipulated once again or if today is the birth date of Cuba's liberty.

To be fair Val has posted since, with different versions of what's going on in Cuba. As of 8:22 this a.m. Val was sticking to his guns.

Here's my take, once again:

fidel castro is dead.

Take it to the bank.

Another Florida blogger Tere had the following.

UPDATE 4 PM: Finally got a hold of my dad. He's spent the last hour on the phone with Vladimiro Roca, one of the most prominent dissidents on the island. Vladimiro resides in Havana and says nothing is going on over there. What's more, he says, he and other dissidents have already been warned by the regime that when Fidel dies, the first thing that is going to happen is that they will all be arrested and put in jail in order to prevent them from speaking or acting out.

I've also gotten confirmation that local police is in fact on alpha/bravo, which leads me to believe that the buzz is too loud (and accurate?) to ignore; but in reality, they probably would rather be safe than sorry.

Tere like Val is a Cuban-American blogger here in South Florida, though Tere blogs mainly blogs about parenting and issues related to it.

Alex at SOTP wrote-

I just talked to my sister in Havana. Nothing out of the ordinary today (no troop movement, reinforced police presence, changes in media programming) or in the past few days. Not that she will hear in advance or is connected, but our apartment is a few blocks away from the government center and the neighborhood is usually barricaded and heavily patrolled before any official activities.

Robert at 26th Parallel wrote last night-

Just finished watching Polos Opuestos on Channel 22 here in Miami, and the word is that the rumors of fidel's death are just that. Host Maria Elvira Salazar interviewed Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, and the mayor emphasized that there have been no movement of law enforcement to handle the rumored situation. Most importantly, Diaz said that the city is maintaining contact with the federal government and that the feds would notify the city once they receive the official word. There have been no unusual movement of Coast Guard personnel or vessels either, according to Diaz.

*****

Take this for what it's worth, and I guess it's still possible that the guy is indeed dead, but it's looking more and more like today's news was yet another false rumor.

As I mentioned in a comment earlier today, wake me up when fifo is officially dead.

What do I think- Val was full of crap. I know he hates Castro, and its justified but reporting the dictator's death is not going to make it happen. I've no doubt he has sources in Cuba, but my guess is its like the old story of how the simple news of one outer space alien landing in New York looking for fuel for his spacecraft and willing to pay for it tale gets turned into millions of aliens landing around the world trying to take over the planet by the time the 10th teller of the tale gets through with it. The truth of what has happened has totally vanished.

Val will be right one day but how many times will he be wrong before then?

Sorry I've been caught up in the 'Fidel is dead' speculation before, and I'm not going to fall for it again. My own opinion is that when the dictator croaks, the news will make its way soon enough to both the Cuban people in Cuba and Miami, officially. Till then everything is rumors.

The title of my post comes from my wife's reaction to the latest Fidel Castro rumors. Leonita is a wise woman.

Also blogging on the Fidel rumors- James Joyner at OTB, Sister Toldjah, Stop the ACLU, A Blog for All, Dr. Taylor at Poliblog, Below the Beltway,
Linked to- Amboy Times, Big Dog, Bright & Early, Cao, Commonsense America, Right Wing Nation, The World According to Carl, Yankee Sailor,