Castro undergoes surgery

HAVANA
Cuban President Fidel Castro underwent surgery for intestinal bleeding and delegated power provisionally to his younger brother Raul, the Cuban leader said in a statement read out on state television on Monday by an aide.

Castro, who turns 80 on August 13 and has led Cuba since a 1959 revolution, delegated his posts as first secretary of the ruling Communist Party, commander in chief of the armed forces and president of the executive council of state to Raul Castro, his brother and designated successor.

Castro said he had overexerted himself on a trip to a summit of South American presidents and celebrations last week of his 1953 assault on a military garrison.

"This caused an acute intestinal crisis with sustained bleeding," said the statement signed by Castro and read out by aide Carlos Valenciaga.

Castro said the operation forced him to rest for several weeks and delegate his government functions to Raul, who is 75.