Fidel Castro sent a letter to Diego Maradona, Venezuelan-based TV reported in an interview with the Argentine football great on Monday, quashing rumours that the former Cuban leader had died.
The elder Castro had not been heard from nor seen in public since his brother Raul's historic U.S.-Cuba rapprochement in December, and the silence has re-ignited speculation about his health.
"Fidel is doing very well," Maradona told Telesur , as he held up the letter. "Here's the signature ... I'm showing it to you so you can show it to the world."
Chatter about his demise has dogged Castro periodically since the 1959 Cuban revolution, but became more frequent in recent years because of health problems that forced him to step down from power in favour of his younger brother.
