HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) – Cuban authorities remained mum yesterday about the condition of ailing President Fidel Castro, providing no immediate comment on a report that he was in a “very serious” condition after three failed operations.

Neither the authorities nor official media made any mention of the report by Spain’s El Pais daily, which said Castro, 80, had suffered a serious infection in his stomach lining following a series of surgeries in recent months.

Havana has treated Castro’s health as a state secret since the longtime revolutionary leader announced in July that he had undergone intestinal surgery and temporarily handed over power to his younger brother Raul Castro, 75, who is also defence minister.

In its report, the most detailed accounting of Castro’s health published to date, El Pais quoted sources at the Gregorio Maranon hospital in Madrid, whose head of surgery, Jose Luis Garcia Sabrido had examined the 80-year-old revolutionary leader in Havana last month.

But CNN quoted the Spanish doctor as saying any information that doesn’t come straight from Castro’s medical team “lacks foundation”.

There has been mounting speculation in recent weeks over the condition of the Cuban leader who has not been seen in public, other than on television, since undergoing surgery in July.