The answer is: Cuban President Fidel Castro has been in power to witness and deal with each and every one of these episodes and leaders, as well as scores of others. And despite the vast reports claiming his time has now finally come, it seems he might be around for a while longer.
It is unclear which illness (he suffered from intestinal bleeding and is believed to suffer from diverticular disease) the Cuban President is battling exactly, but there is little disputing his resolve and ability to deal with whatever challenge is thrown at his entity. Castro has survived numerous attempts on his life, prompting the British newspaper The Guardian to write an article about the matter and Channel 4 to make a documentary. They came to the conclusion that 638 ways have been devised by various parties - most notably the CIA - to assassinate him (for an interesting read on the 638 ways attempted to kill Fidel Castro, have a look at the Guardian's article on the subject). These include an exploding cigar, a poisonous ballpoint pen and a jar of cold cream containing poison pills. Castro fittingly responded to these numerous attempts by making what has become a legendary comment; "If surviving assassination attempts were an Olympic event, I would win the gold medal."
Attempts on his life haven't managed to kill him, old age doesn't seem to damage him too much and now it appears disease has failed as well. After what was considered to be a series of life threatening operations, rumours of Castro's death spread like wildfire. But little by little, pictures and videos emerged of a recovering Castro at the side of his main ally, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Last week Castro even published an article denouncing U.S. plans to turn corn into ethanol as a means to create an alternative energy supply to oil. The most recent and puissant proof that Castro is on his way back to leading his country is the meeting he held with Wu Guanzheng, a member of the Chinese Communist Party's Politiburo.
The meeting with Wu is all the more substantial given that Castro received a letter from Chinese President Hu Jintao that delved, amongst other things, into economic issues. According to Chinese officials in Cuba, trade between the two countries has blossomed in recent years, growing to $1.8 billion last year, double that of 2005. Most of this trade is accounted for by Cuban imports of Chinese buses, locomotives and farm equipment and supplies. Cuba would very much like to capitalize on China's booming economy and overall growth, providing it with a golden opportunity to get the Cuban revolutionary engine back on steam.
Castro's Cuban revolutionary movement has survived many catastrophes - the most notable being the collapse of the Soviet Union - but survived them all. This is very much due to the unique leadership abilities of El Commandante. When it comes to Fidel Castro, never say die.
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