Decrepit Democrat Hero Spotted in Public

Sadly, it appears he's still breathing.

He's alive!

Fidel Castro, who hasn't been photographed in public in four years, made a rare cameo Saturday when he showed up in a white tracksuit at a Havana think tank, the Associated Press reported.

Castro, 83, has not been spotted out and about since falling seriously ill in 2006.

Though Cuba has released a few official photos of the former leader sporadically since then, those images have only pictured him in private meetings - most recently in February when he met with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva.

Saturday's photos were said to be taken during a visit to the National Center for Scientific Investigation in Havana, and were first published on the blogs of two Cuban reporters.

The first four photos that emerged from Castro's visit were said to be taken by a worker at the Center on his cell phone, the AP reported.

"He is thin but he looks good, and according to our director, he is very good mentally," the worker wrote in a comment accompanying the photos.