Venezuela's vice president has said that President Hugo Chavez is battling for his life while his treatment continues after his cancer surgery.
Vice President Nicolas Maduro said on television that Chavez “is battling there for his health, for his life, and we're accompanying him.”
Chavez has not spoken publicly since before his latest cancer operation in Cuba on Dec. 11. He returned to Venezuela on Feb. 18, and the government says he has been undergoing more treatment at a military hospital in Caracas.
Maduro also called for Venezuelans to keep praying for Chavez and to remain loyal to the president.
“Do you know why Comandante Chavez neglected his health and has been battling (cancer) for nearly two years?” he said. “Because he completely surrendered body and soul and forgot all his obligations to himself in order to give himself to the homeland.”
Chavez, 58, himself has previously acknowledged that he was neglecting his health in recent years, often staying up late and consuming cup after cup of coffee to remain alert.
Chavez ‘critical’
Chavez ‘critical’
