The international medical team treating Venezuela’s cancer-ridden leader Hugo Chávez believe that, absent a radical change in his condition, he is not likely to survive more than six months. According to sources that have provided me privileged information and documents from within the Venezuelan regime for many months, recent tests show that Chávez’s cancer is accelerating and his chances of surviving until the October 2012 presidential elections are worsening.This sobering prognosis is a dilemma for Caracas, where Chavista leaders are afraid that their fiercest followers will feel betrayed when they learn his claim to be “cancer-free” turns out to be a big lie. Meanwhile, Washington policy makers appear unprepared to deal with the chaos that will ensue as the most corrupt members of the Chávez regime plot to retain power at all costs and as the state-run economy collapses.
Chávez wants his people to believe that he was “cured” months ago and that recent visits to Cuba have been to confirm his miraculous recovery. In fact, his physical deterioration is advancing faster than doctors had expected.
Despite this grave situation, Chávez has insisted on receiving only light doses of chemotherapy to avoid long absences from the political stage during this precarious period. Under his desperate plan, Chávez’s team will announce “short vacations” and “rest breaks,” during which he really will be receiving treatment at a specialized medical facility that has been installed recently at the presidential retreat on the island of La Orchila.
These latest revelations are consistent with months of reporting from inside sources. What began as an aggressive prostate cancer more than a year ago had spread to his lymphatic system, colon and bones even before Chávez agreed to seek treatment.