Cuba's state television has broadcast the first images in three months of ailing President Fidel Castro.

The broadcast Tuesday said the ten-minute video clip was taped on Monday in Havana. It showed the 80-year-old leader standing and talking with his Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo Chavez.

News reports on the broadcast said he appeared alert and heavier than in previous images, which showed him thin and frail.

The Cuban leader dropped from public view after undergoing emergency surgery for intestinal bleeding last July. The Cuban government treats his health as a state secret.

Earlier this month, a Spanish doctor, Garcia Sebrido, who examined the president in December said Mr. Castro is making a "slow but progressive" recovery from the surgery.

But the Spanish newspaper El Pais reported that Mr. Castro suffered serious complications because he chose to undergo a risky surgical procedure.

Garcia Sebrido, the doctor who examined President Castro, said the report is untrue.

Some information for this report was proviced by Reuters, AP and AFP