On the eve of the U.S. release of his kind-of-sort-of-anticipated-by-us autobiography, Fidel Castro: My Life, El Comandante has pulled off the ultimate PR coup by announcing that he may die. The world has lived on speculative crumbs [Ed. Note: Mostly created by us.] since his last public appearance 16 months ago when he handed over much of his power to his brother Raul. But now, according to the New York Post, he’s singing a different tune:

The retirement of the 81-year-old leader, who hasn’t been seen in public for 16 months, could be OK’d by the Cuban parliament as soon as March.

The Post reports that his announcement was “low key” and came at the end of a daily current affairs program where he said in a letter that his duties would be to act as an elder statesman and dispense advice based on experience gained during these “exceptional times” he’s lived through. Never one to go down without a fight, though, he kind of invalidated the whole thing when he alluded to a Brazilian architect who turned 100 on Saturday. Failing to mention, of course, that the only thing that guy is building these days is a tower of crap in his pants.

CASTRO IS AT LAST READY TO BID ADIOS [New York Post]
Earlier: Fidel Castro Deathwatch: El Comandante Writes Of His Magical Time Saving Beard And Other Pearls