Fidel Castro is alive, apparently. Venezuela's former vice president Elias Jaua produced this photo of the former Cuban President on Sunday in an attempt to dispel rumors Castro's health is failing, or worse. Some thought he was dead. 

Jaua allegedly met with Castro for five hours on Saturday and the two talked about agriculture history, and international politics. But, more importantly, Castro is "doing well" and is "lucid,' according to Jaua. Castro then accompanied Jaua to his hotel, and met with the hotel's manager. 

Castro hasn't been seen in public since March when he briefly met with Pope Benedict when the Pope visited Cuba. Rumors swirled this week that Castro's health was failing. Reuters remains skeptical of Jaua's circumstantial evidence, though: 

Apart from the comments by Jaua and Martinez, and the pictures shown to the media, there was no independent confirmation that anyone had actually seen the former leader.

This is a close-up of the picture. Castro is the third person from the left: 

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