Former Cuban President Raúl Castro appears in public after hospitalization

Raúl Castro has reappeared in public after reports of a grave illness, ending weeks of heightened speculation about the former Cuban leader's health. Cuban state television showed him attending a military ceremony on Saturday, his first public appearance since he was reportedly hospitalized.

The footage, broadcast for more than 10 minutes, showed the 95-year-old Castro in his traditional olive-green military uniform. He walked alongside high-ranking military officials, his bodyguard and his grandson, Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, before taking a seat in the front row of an indoor venue. He stood several times to receive a commemorative certificate and greet attendees.

The event marked the 65th anniversary of the Personal Security Directorate, the army branch responsible for protecting Cuba's top leaders. President Miguel Díaz-Canel posted photographs from the ceremony on X and wrote: "It is an honor to participate alongside Army General (Raúl Castro) in the ceremony marking the 65th anniversary of the Personal Security Directorate."

Castro no longer holds a formal government or Communist Party position and rarely appears in public. His absence from the July rally marking the anniversary of the Cuban revolution had fueled additional rumors about his condition. Reports of his hospitalization surfaced last week in the Miami-based newspaper Diario Las Américas, which cited a source close to Castro in Cuba. The Cuban government did not confirm the illness.

The broadcast also highlighted Castro's grandson, who reportedly took part earlier this year in talks with the United States. Both governments have acknowledged that the discussions occurred after Washington imposed an oil and financial blockade on the island, but the talks have since stopped and no agenda or details have emerged. The blockade has added to a five-year crisis that includes blackouts lasting more than 30 hours. In June, the U.S. Department of Justice also filed murder charges against Castro over the 1996 downing of aircraft belonging to an anti-Castro organization.

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It is an honor to participate alongside Army General (Raúl Castro) in the ceremony marking the 65th anniversary of the Personal Security Directorate. An agency with origins dating back well before September 6, 1961, to the days of the revolutionary struggle led by the Commander-in-Chief (Fidel Castro).