Venezuelan President Chavez’s Surgery Concludes Satisfactorily
Vice-president Nicolas Maduro announced late last night that Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has come out of surgery and has started a period of recovery after being diagnosed with cancer again recently.
Merida, December 12th 2012 (Venezuelanalysis.com) – Vice-president Nicolas Maduro announced late last night that Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has come out of surgery and has started a period of recovery after being diagnosed with cancer again recently.
“The [recovery] state will last several days, and we will provide information daily on the progress of our president,” Maduro said.
“It was a complicated operation, and doctors have been in constant communication with us and his family,” he added. The operation lasted six hours.
Prior to the surgery, Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa visited Chavez in Cuba, and described the procedure as “very delicate”.
“He’s going through one of the most difficult moments of his life, our heart and our solidarity go with this historic president,” Correa said.
Maduro also expressed his appreciation for all the messages of support the government has received. These include the Venezuelan people, rallying around the country, and messages from various presidents and prominent figures.
Also, messages of support were expressed through social network site Twitter, with the hashtag #ElMundoEstaConChavez (the world supports Chavez) ranking third among trending topics globally yesterday, and first in Venezuela.
After his live public announcement, Maduro went to the Bolivar Square in Caracas, and told the hundreds of people gathered in support and in prayer, “We can say that [president] Chavez has overcome the first obstacle”.
Also yesterday, US State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland intervened in Venezuela’s internal affairs, stating, “We [the US government] are following the events closely…and hope to see that any succession [to Chavez] follows the terms of the Venezuelan constitution”.
Some members of the Venezuelan opposition have also expressed delight at, and made fun of the president’s current health situation.
Maduro, during his public announcement called on the opposition to “cease your hate and poison against Chavez, respect the pain of a dignified people.”
Chavez was first diagnosed with cancer in June 2011, and successfully underwent treatment for a recurrence of the disease in February this year. He then announced on Saturday that there was another reoccurrence of the cancer in the same area.