HAVANA (AP) - A top executive at Havana's Hotel Nacional says that Fidel Castro made a public appearance there, challenging rumors that he is in ailing health.

The hotel's commercial director, Yamila Fuster, told The Associated Press on Sunday that the 86-year-old Castro arrived there in a car Saturday afternoon to drop off a "distinguished Venezuelan guest," then stayed to chat with hotel employees for half an hour. She says the employees told her Castro "looked very good," wearing a checked shirt and a hat.

Several recent rounds of rumors have suggested that Castro has been gravely ill, even near death.

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