Fidel Castro’s sister has denied rumors that the former Cuban leader suffered a massive stroke and was on the brink of death, the Venezuelan media said.

The U.S. Spanish-language newspaper Nuevo Herald quoted on Friday Venezuelan doctor Jose Marquina as saying that Fidel Castro had suffered a "massive embolism of the right cerebral artery” and had trouble eating, speaking, or recognizing people.

Juanita Castro, who resides in Miami, said that reports of her brother's condition were “absurd” rumors. Castro’s son, Alex, earlier said his father’s health was good, and he was “going about his daily life, reading extensively.”

Castro, who ruled the communist island for about 50 years, handed over the presidency to his younger brother Raul in 2008. Rumors about his deteriorating health have circulated on and off for years, but have intensified after Castro failed to congratulate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on his reelection in October.

Venezuelan journalist Nelson Bocaranda said on October 11 that Castro’s death was imminent.

The 86-year-old Cuban revolutionary leader last appeared in public in March when he met with visiting Pope Benedict XVI. Castro also stopped writing his essays, dubbed Reflections, in the local media in June.

However, Cuban state media circulated on Wednesday a congratulatory letter to the graduates of a Cuban medical school purportedly written and signed by Castro.

The Cuban authorities have not made any official statements on Castro’s condition so far.