Cuba ? A statement signed by Fidel Castro on Wednesday said his weight was stable and he was eating solid foods after months of intravenous feeding that followed several operations, including an initial surgery that did not go well.

The statement from the 80-year-old Cuban leader said that he was taking all medicines orally and his weight had stabilized.

“I tell everyone simply that I am getting better and maintain a stable weight of about 80 kilograms (176 pounds),” he wrote. “It wasn’t just one operation, but various. Initially it wasn’t successful and had a bearing on my prolonged recuperation.”

He added that the greatest dangers to him now are age and the effects of not taking care of his health for years.