Cuban President Fidel Castro has temporarily handed power to his 75-year-old brother Raul.
Raul is currently the Cuban defence minister.
Castro, who will turn 80 Sunday, said he has undergone a surgery after he had an 'accident'.
Castro said in a statement that he will be 'out of power for several weeks'.
Castro, who has been in power for close to half a decade now, recently said that he did not plan to be leading Cuba if and when he turns 100.
In 2004, Castro, who had quit smoking cigars since 1985, injured his right arm and left knee in a fall, leading to speculation about his health.
Image: In a file photograph Cuban President Fidel Castro (L) and his younger brother Raul, Minister of the Revoutionary Armed Forces, chat on December 23, 2003 in Havana.
Photographs: Adalberto Roque/AFP/Getty Imagess
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