CNN

HAVANA, Cuba (CNN) -- Cuban President Fidel Castro's recuperation "is advancing positively," Venezuela's government said Tuesday, citing Cuban authorities a day after the communist leader temporarily handed power to his brother due to intestinal surgery.

Cuban television reported the handover Monday night, the first time Castro has ceded control of the island nation in 47 years. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is a close ally of Castro's.

The Cuban leader's secretary, Carlos Valenciaga, read a letter Monday night that he said was from the president announcing the news. In it, the Cuban leader said that stress had forced him into surgery and that he would be in bed for several weeks after the operation.