Castro says he met with Garcia Marquez

Castro says he met with Garcia Marquez

Fidel Castro told the presidents of Venezuela and Haiti he was feeling "very well" and had met with Colombian Nobel Prize-winning novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez in Cuba's capital, state media reported.

In a phone conversation Monday with Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Rene Preval of Haiti, the ailing 80-year-old Castro said, "This morning I had a visit with Gabo, who showed up here. He's here."

Garcia Marquez, who turned 80 on March 6, has a had a long friendship with Castro. When the novelist arrived in Cuba is not clear, however, reports AP.

A transcript of Castro's conversation was published Wednesday in the Communist Party daily Granma.