In a statement that has further raised speculation over the fate of dictator Fidel Castro, Cuba’s Communist Party on Thursday stressed it would stay in control no matter what happened to the convalescent leader. The statement again failed to clear up questions over whether Castro is dead or alive, and doubts over who is in actually charge of the island nation now.

In a typically cryptic message analysts said was designed to dispel fears of a disorderly transition of power, the main Communist newspaper Granma printed part of an old speech by Cuba’s temporary leader, Castro’s brother Raul.

In the speech, delivered on June 14 to army officers and first printed in Granma the following day, Raul Castro said, “Only the Communist Party …. can be the worthy heir of the trust Cubans have placed in their leader.”

The question of who will actually succeed Fidel Castro is not simple to answer. The story continues below the fold.

Fidel Castro, a notorious workaholic whose 80th birthday is August 13, temporarily handed over power as president and commander in chief to his brother on Monday after undergoing surgery to stop intestinal bleeding.

Raul Castro, Cuba’s defense minister and regarded as competent but uncharismatic, has long been known to be his successor. He is 75 years old.

Castro’s old enemy, the United States, says it believes the one-time guerrilla, the world’s longest-serving head of government, is still alive.

Despite a surface calm on the streets of Havana, many Cubans had told foreign reporters they wanted Raul to show someone is in control by making a public appearance. Raul Castro has not been seen or heard from since the news of Fidel’s illness and surgery were made public

More news as it becomes available.