Four Years Later: Fidel Castro Weighs In On World Cup, Middle East & More

By Simone Hilliard

Fidel Castro is ready for another fifteen minutes of fame. After four years behind the scenes, the 83-year-old revolutionary leader is scheduled to make a highly promoted appearance on Cuban state television and radio Monday (July 12) evening to discuss his concerns about the Middle East. 

This TV special will mark the second time in less than a week that the suddenly resurgent Castro has made a public appearance after undergoing emergency intestinal surgery in 2006.

Last Wednesday, Castro made a visit to a Havana scientific center that was disclosed in a blog on Saturday. Fidel is shown smiling and waving at workers, appearing relaxed and happy, but somewhat reserved.

Castro writes opinion columns, or "Reflections," for Cuba's state-run media that in recent weeks have focused on his prediction that nuclear war will soon break out, sparked by a conflict between the United States and Iran over international sanctions against Iran's nuclear activities.

Castro even went as far as to say that the World Cup was a distraction keeping people from focusing on potential global destruction.

"Amid game after game of the World Cup, the diabolical news trickles out little by little, so that nobody worries about it," Castro wrote on June 24.

"The empire is at the point of committing a terrible error that nobody can stop. It advances inexorably toward a sinister fate," he wrote on July 5.

In a column published on Sunday night, Castro said the "principal purpose" of his writings has been to "warn international public opinion of what was occurring."

What do you think of Castro's resurrection? Sound off on el politico in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags conflict, Cuba, Fidel Castro, Middle East, Politics, Tr3s