text: In this July 22, 2014 file photo, Fidel Castro looks at a sculpture of himself, a gift from China's President Xi Jinping in Havana, Cuba. Amid the excitement over the thaw in U.S.-Cuba relations, one person has been conspicuously absent: Fidel Castro. The former Cuban president hasn’t made any public comment about the announcement that the U.S. and Cuba will restore diplomatic relations after more than 50 years of hostility.