Supporters of Venezuela's president Hugo Chavez have claimed new footage of the socialist leader is evidence of his recovery following surgery in Cuba.
Just as rumors about Mr Chavez's disappearance from public view since the June 10th operation were reaching a crescendo, both governments put out video and photographs of him walking and chatting with revolutionary leader Fidel Castro.
The images shown last night do not disprove the most extreme rumor - that Mr Chavez has prostate cancer - but they give weight to the official line that he is simply recovering from a painful operation to remove a pelvic abscess.
Officials are hoping the 56-year-old will be back for July 5th when Venezuela hosts regional heads of state. The summit on Margarita island is timed to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Venezuela's independence from Spain.
"Let these images serve to bring peace to the people of Venezuela regarding the health of president Chavez," his gleeful-looking communications minister Andres Izarra said, showing the images again-and-again on Venezuelan state TV.
There were suggestions late yesterday that the summit might be postponed, with one state media employee telling Reuters their coverage plans had been put on hold after word that the president would not return on time.
The affair has highlighted the lack of an obvious successor for Mr Chavez, who has utterly dominated local politics while driving forward his "21st Century Socialism" reforms.
It had also threatened to turn the Venezuelan political scene on its head before next year's presidential election.
Were Mr Chavez to be incapacitated, there would probably be a fight for power among his closest allies and the opposition might demand immediate elections, analysts said.
Given past violence, especially around a short-lived 2002 coup against Chavez, the potential for more trouble always lurks in a nation brimming with arms and political bitterness.
Reuters