• Submitted by: lena campos
• Health and Medicine
• 01 / 04 / 2013

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VENEZUELA’S President, Hugo Chavez, is suffering from “complications” brought on by a “severe lung infection” which developed after surgery, officials say.

Mr Chavez, 58, had his fourth operation for cancer in Cuba on 11 December and then developed a respiratory infection.In a statement from Caracas, Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said the infection had “led to a respiratory insufficiency”. Mr Chavez is due to be sworn in for another term in office on 10 January.

“[Mr] Chavez has faced complications as a consequence of a severe lung infection,” said Mr Villegas. The president has not been seen in public since having cancer surgery in Havana, prompting persistent speculation about his condition.

BBC reported that Venezuela’s government insists it is doing its duty in keeping people informed on the health of Hugo Chavez, angry at persistent rumours that the president’s condition is worse than it is reporting. But this latest statement confirms only that Mr Chavez has breathing difficulties, following what it now calls a “severe lung infection”: There is still no word on his prognosis, or - crucially - on plans for next week’s presidential inauguration.

What does seem clear, by its omission, is that there has been no obvious improvement since the last report, so it must now be very unlikely that Mr Chavez can be sworn back into office on 10 January. We can only assume that the looming power vacuum is what drew National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello to Havana on Thursday, joining Vice President Maduro at Mr Chavez’s bedside.

On his return, Mr Cabello insisted: “We know what we will do.” But so far, nobody else seems to. The information minister was among a number of Mr Chavez’s political allies who have urged people not to believe what they called lies about his health. Mr Villegas warned Venezuelans not to be taken in by a “psychological war” being fought in the media which had the “ultimate aim of destabilising the Bolivarian republic”. Vice-President Nicolas Maduro and National Assembly Head Diosdado Cabello visited Mr Chavez this week, along with several other dignitaries.

Source: NGRGuardianNews.com