World leaders flock to visit Fidel Castro during regional summit

Fidel Castro has lived mostly out of the public eye since a near-fatal illness in 2006 forced his retirement after nearly five decades at the helm of Cuba.

This week he had his busiest social calendar in years as nearly a dozen world leaders attending a regional summit in Havana stopped in to pay their respects to — and have their picture taken with — the man considered the godfather of the Latin American left.

Photos of the encounters taken by Castro's photographer son Alex show a gray-bearded, elderly man, seemingly alert and animated. The conversations reportedly ranged from history and world current affairs to remembrances of Castro's late friend Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. (AP)