Speaking on national television yesterday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez once again dismissed rumours of poor health.
The audio of his voice via phone was broadcast throughout Venezuela. Pictures of him playing baseball and walking around were released yesterday on Twitter by Communication and Information Minister Andrés Izarra.
“These are harsh treatments and one must rise to them with will, strength, faith and lots of rest,” Chávez said in the broadcast.
The messages from the president come after Venezuelan journalist Nelson Bocaranda wrote on the subject this weekend. The reporter also Tweeted that he heard Saturday was Chávez’s hardest day since he was first diagnosed in June 2011, because he now knows “the full truth of his cancer.”
During the past few weeks, Chávez has been missing from the media scene in Venezuela, prompting rumours over social media about his poor health or even death.
Two weeks ago, Bocaranda wrote on his blog that Chávez’s cancer was far more serious than the president was letting on, noting that it had moved to the liver, with “possible extensions to the pancreas, kidney, pelvic cavity and lower muscles.”
