CARACAS, Dec 16: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said he was certain Cuban leader Fidel Castro did not have cancer, despite allegations by US officials that he has just months to live.“Fidel does not have cancer, I am well aware of that,” Chavez said in a speech before military leaders on Friday.

He said Castro had ordered the Cuban government officials to keep him informed, and he had been receiving regular updates about the Cuban leader’s condition.

The comment came after US Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte told the Washington Post on Friday that Castro was very ill and close to death.

“Everything we see indicates it will not be much longer ... months, not years,” Negroponte told the Post.

Chavez, who said he had spoken to Castro by telephone on Thursday, said he was going to send him some chocolate because he was recovering from his illness and beginning to diversify his diet.

“When I spoke to him, I sensed he was in good spirits, and we hope comrade Fidel will continue to recuperate,” Chavez added.

But the Venezuelan leader, one of Castro’s staunchest supporters, acknowledged that the father of the Cuban revolution was waging “a big battle”.

The official Cuban newspaper Granma reported on Saturday that Castro addressed by telephone a gathering of Cuban provincial governors.—AFP