Current conjecture among medical experts is that Fidel Castro has widely metastatic colon cancer and either did not survive the surgery announced by Cuban officials, or — if he survived — will be dead within a matter of a few weeks.

The condition is terminal.

It was known before Castro’s sudden collapse last weekend that he had stomach cancer, but the speed of his decline caught his medical team by surprise. It is thought to have been contributed to by depression over his declining health and anxiety over whether or not the revolutionary movement he founded would long survive his passing.

There are several other possible medical conditions that fit the facts reported in official Cuban government statements on Castro’s condition, but all of them are terminal. If Castro is not dead already, or dying, then the official statements have been false and Castro’s illness and relinquishment of power were a ruse.

Published reports have indicated that Fidel Castro is hospitalized in an exclusive hospital in the Kohly area reserved for members of the Cuban Politburo and other high government officials. Cigar Envy has learned that those published reports are probably in error.

Where the Cuban leader was actually operated on, and the circumstances following his operation at the hospital in question, raise questions about his current condition and the statements issued this past week by Cuban authorities.

Full details after the jump.

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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.

Cuban Communist Party statement fuels speculation that Castro is dead

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.

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Two days after the unprecedented handover of power in Cuba from dictator Fidel Castro to his brother, Raul, neither man has made a public appearance or been show in media reports. The questions being asked by many is, where are Fidel and Raul, what is happening out of sight, behind the scenes, and — most important of all — is Fidel Castro dead?

Demonstrator in Miami’s Little Havana with sign Is Castro Dead?”

A slight but perceptible mobilization of police in Havana’s streets was accompanied by a tightening of security at the country’s exit points, along with a mobilization of Communist Party activists and rapid response brigades. Cubans are pondering the fate of their leader of nearly five decades after he reportedly underwent gastrointestinal surgery.

A top official said Wednesday that Fidel Castro, 79, remained “very alert” following his operation, and continued to closely follow domestic and international affairs. However, no pictures have been shown of the island nation’s leader, and he has not been seen since last week.

As the hours have lengthened into days since the announcement of Fidel Castro’s health crisis, neither he nor his brother Raul, named as temporary replacement to Fidel on Monday, have appeared in public or made any direct statements to the media. Their continuing absence, along with the increasing security measures in Cuba, are stoking concerns over the country’s future.

National Assembly Speaker Ricardo Alarcon told US-based Pacifica Radio’s “Democracy Now” show that he had spoken Monday and Tuesday with Fidel.

“Of course, he is forced to have a period of rest. He underwent complicated surgery,” said Alarcon. “But he is very alive and very alert as always, very interested in what’s going on around him and around the world,” he said.

Despite Alarcon’s claim to have spoken with with Castro, the ailing dictator’s absence from public view has continued to fule speculation that he might be comatose, more gravely ill than reported…or worse.

Details of Castro’s health have been declared an official state secret because of, Cuban government sources state, the continuing threat posed by the United States. Rather than bringing reassurance, the move has prompted questions of what health details could be dangerous to the state — except confirmation of Castro’s death.

“They should have appeared,'’ said Rolando Anderson, a vendor in Havana’s historic center. “There are many people asking questions.'’

More news from Cuba and Florida below the fold.

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It is not often that a new line of cigars comes along that is truly exceptional. It was a pleasure, therefore, to learn of the new Lot 23 cigar line from Perdomo that is exceptional in several ways.

Lot 23 Cigars from Tabacalera Perdomo

The newest cigar line from Tabacalera Perdomo S.A., Perdomo Lot 23, was released last month at the 2006 RTDA show in Las Vegas. It is a very special line, named after one of the company’s prestige tobacco farms near its factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. One of the things that makes the Perdomo Lot 23 special is that both the filler and binder for the new cigar are made exclusively from Cuban-seed tobacco grown on that one highly fertile farm.

“Perdomo Lot 23 is very special for our company because it was a project that my father, Nicolas Perdomo, Sr., pioneered as we started to expand our growing operations in 2000,” said Nick Perdomo, Jr. “My father and I selected a plot of land near our factory that was untouched. We cleared the entire field, ran thorough soil analysis and carefully prepared the grounds. This land was so fertile that we knew it would provide some incredible tobacco, and it did. I believe that we have met my father’s strict expectations of quality throughout our growing operations and our manufacturing facility. The final product is a premium cigar that is extremely flavorful and is available at a very competitive price point.”

A very competitive price point indeed. In fact, a price so low for a cigar of this quality that I found it hard to believe when I first heard it.

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Under the heading of, “See, I told you so,” I bring news of the next step in the global fundamentalist movement toward Prohibition. On the heels of the anti-smoking controversy at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Scottish legislators now going after alcohol.

No Scotch in Scotland?

Impossible?

No.

The first steps have been taken, and they are following the pattern used to successfully ban smoking as their playbook. The details are below the fold.

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From Reuters comes word of yet another slide down the slope to a New Prohibition. As predicted back when Westin became the first hotel chain to go smoke-free, another major chain has decided to close their doors to smokers.

The Marriott Corporation, whose properties include the Marriott and J.W. Marriott hotels, the Renaissance and Ritz-Carlton hotel chains, and Courtyard by Marriott, Residence Inns, Fairfield Inns, SpringHill Suites, and TownePlace Suites, has jumped on the anti-smoking bandwagon. Beginning in September, they will have a strict “no smoking” policy.

This isn’t just a smoking ban for hotel rooms, however.

This time it is a ban against smoking anywhere on the premises of any Marriott property. The total ban forbids smoking in bars, restaurants, meeting rooms and other public places in all Marriott hotels. Light up anywhere on their property, and they will fine you a minimum of U.S. $200.00.

Strangely enough, while smokers are now completely unwelcome at Marriott hotels and resorts, the chain appears to have no problems with opening their doors to terrorist groups and neo-nazis.

The strange story of…oh, let’s call it “Smoking and Nazis and Terrorists — Oh My!” unfolds after the jump.

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