U.S. keeps eye on Castro's health

Police officials from across Miami-Dade, hoping to discuss possible post-Fidel Castro events locally, met today with Democracy Now, the Cuban exile group headed by Ramon Saul Sanchez.

The meeting was not spurred by specific intelligence but just to keep a dialogue open as reports circulate about Castro's health. Mostly, the talks centered on expected street celebrations and dealing with an influx of refugees, police said.

''Basically we're doing everything we can. We're talking to our federal and local partners, though we have no intelligence that say anything is any different,'' said Miami Police spokesman Delrish Moss.

The heightened attention on Cuba comes at a time when Cuba watchers from as far as Spain remained on alert, reacting to widely circulating but vague reports that Castro's health had taken a serious turn for the worse.

''High sources in Washington are saying that reliable sources have said that he has taken gravely ill,'' said University of Miami's Andy Gomez, who serves as an advisor to the U.S. Task Force on Cuba, an arm of the Brookings Institution think tank comprised of academics and former diplomats.

(Via Miami Herald)