President Hugo Chávez returned to Venezuela at midnight last night after spending five days in Cuba.
The president underwent five days of radiation therapy in Havana, following the removal of tumors from the abdominal area.
Upon his return, he met with vice-president ElÃas Jaua at the Palacio de Miraflores, along with the ministers of Youth, Foreign Affairs, Communication, Defense and Municipal Affairs.
Speaking in the early hours of this morning on Venezolana de Televisión, (VTT) Chávez assured that he had “taken the treatment very well” and that he will now take two days rest, ahead of further treatment.
The opposition has urged Chávez to appoint a replacement leader during his treatment, but the president has refused. “The government is not slowing down, there is now power vacuum, as they are saying,” he responded.
Chávez returns in the hope of being re-elected in October for a further 6 years. As such, he took the opportunity to crticise the opposition ahead of elections, naming the party a “shambles.”
He criticised a “secret meeting late at night” and affirmed that “this opposition can not be called democratic or rational. It is fascist, violent and perverse with base instincts and it’s venomous because it does not have ethical principles.”
Chávez will fly between Caracas and Havana for five sessions of radiation therapy in the coming weeks.
