Cuba will hold a summit of 116 developing nations in two weeks, but the man who championed their cause for decades, Cuban leader Fidel Castro, is not expected to host the event.
Diplomats in Havana believe Mr Castro is under doctors' orders to stay in bed after intestinal surgery in late July and will not be strong enough to meet 40 to 50 heads of state expected for the meeting.
His younger brother, Raul Castro, Cuba's acting president since July 31st, will most likely stand in for him at the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement next month, they said.
"He has been advised against attending. The doctors have strongly recommended that he should not stress himself," said an Asian diplomat, who asked not to be named.
Mr Castro, who turned 80 on August 13, could make an appearance at the summit if he felt well. But a thunderous address by the ailing Cuban leader is not in the cards, diplomats said.
"Who is going to be the face of Cuba at the summit? It has to be Raul," a European diplomat said.
The summit was going to be a "Fidel fest," coming right after his 80th birthday, the diplomat said.
Cuba will have to host the event without the iconic presence of the bearded left-wing firebrand who put the island of 11 million on the international map after his revolution in 1959, he said.