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09/01/07 - Miami Herald - Doubts cast on report of Raul Castro Italy trip

BY FRANCES ROBLES

An Italian golf resort executive has reportedly confirmed that interim Cuban
leader Raúl Castro visited his links last month. But a Cuban official said
he highly doubted the report.

Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper started the story when it reported
Thursday morning that Castro landed at the Argentario Golf Resort on Italy's
central coast in the first week of August by helicopter, accompanied by four
bodyguards.

He flew over the course, lingering over at least 10 holes.

''Later, the copter landed at the 11th hole, on a hill overlooking Lake
Orbetello,'' the paper said, citing no sources for its report.

``The lightning visit lasted only one hour.''

The newspaper said the visit came during a trip to Italy to visit some of
his grandchildren. Castro's daughter, Mariela, is married to an Italian
photographer.

Corriere della Sera reported that Castro makes annual secret visits to
Italy.

The golf resort is the property of entrepreneur Giuseppe Orsini, a European
seniors golf champion.

Italy's ANSA news agency reported later Thursday that his son, Augusto, had
confirmed the newspaper report.

A receptionist at the resort told The Miami Herald on Friday that she had no
knowledge of a Castro visit, and a news report out of Havana quoted one
Cuban official as saying he ''highly doubted'' the reported visit.

The Corriere della Sera report included quotes from Castro, but it was
unclear how they were obtained.

' `This is a charming place,' Raúl Castro exclaimed. And turning to the
owners, he spoke in praise: 'You have done wonders. This is astounding. The
greens have been designed in an extraordinary manner.' ''

Castro's visit, if true, would be highly unusual, in part because his
brother Fidel Castro has been convalescing since he underwent emergency
surgery for intestinal bleeding last year.

Fidel Castro ceded power to his younger brother on July 31, 2006, and has
not been seen in public since, and the most-recent images of him were
released in June.

For the past three Fridays, gossip swept South Florida claiming that Fidel
Castro was finally dead. But he has continued to write columns for Cuban
newspapers.

There were many doubters of the report about Raúl Castro.

''This story is absurd,'' said Max Lesnik, a Miami anti-embargo activist
with close ties to Havana. ``It seems to me to be a fantasy.''

Raúl Castro, he added, ``can travel, but does it seem logical that a person
. . . who is in charge of a nation would go on vacation to play golf --
never mind that his brother is sick in the hospital. Raúl Castro has never
played golf in his life.''

Lesnik stressed that Mariela and her husband live in Havana, so there would
be no reason for the grandchildren to be living in Italy.

Miami Herald staff writer Patricia Mazzei and translator Renato Pérez
contributed to this report.