CARACAS - Venezuela's flamboyant socialist leader Hugo Chavez said on Thursday he had undergone a successful operation in Cuba to remove cancerous cells from a tumor and was on the road to full recovery.| He's toast, in other words... |
"They confirmed the existence of a tumorous abscess, with the presence of cancerous cells, which required another operation to extract the tumor completely," he said, standing at a lectern by a Venezuelan flag and a painting of South American independence hero Simon Bolivar. "I deeply appreciate the demonstrations of solidarity by Venezuelans and other brotherly people."
Chavez gave no indication of when he would return to Venezuela and did not name a temporary substitute to lead the South American OPEC member nation of 29 million people.
| He's on his way out... |
Until Thursday, the official line had been that he was recovering well from an operation to remove a pelvic abscess and would return soon.
Chavez's ministers gave a joint appearance minutes after his speech ended, pledging to deepen his wide-reaching socialist reforms even in his absence and saying the government would remain united.
His government has canceled a July 5-6 summit coinciding with Venezuela's 200th anniversary of independence. That was a heavy blow for supporters who wanted the charismatic but authoritarian president -- who loves to grandstand at such big events -- back home in time for the national party.
"Uncertainty is now intensifying in Venezuela," said Diego Moya-Ocampos, a Venezuelan analyst at IHS Global Insight. "A prolonged absence by Chavez could encourage a likely political crisis of unprecedented levels."