Hugo Chávez announced that he will be returning to his home country within the next few days. The Venezuelan president has been in Havana, Cuba since late February, undergoing surgery to remove a cancerous tumor.

“The president has been in a very good mood on the cusp of his return this week,” announced the communication and information minister Andres Izarra via Twitter.

Izarra additionally posted photos of the president in seemingly high spirits on Monday, during a birthday celebration for Maria Gabriela, one of Chávez’s daughters.

Since the president’s admission to the Cuban hospital, he has kept in close contact with government officials, who have relayed the information to Venezuelan news sources.

“In the next few hours I’ll be there,” he told vice president Elías Jaua in a telephone call that was transmitted by the state. “We are making adjustments, but in the next days I will be listening to the roosters, throwing food to the parrot … and working toward the happiness of our people.”

Chávez underwent surgery on 26 February, for what he described as a tumor recurrence. The president was diagnosed with cancer last June, and has since received several rounds of chemotherapy. He has now begun further radiation therapy in Cuba.

Chávez has repeatedly assured the public that he plans to promptly resume his campaign for reelection on October 7. If successful, it will be the president’s third consecutive term.

Venezuelan vice president Elías Jaua announced on Tuesday that a tumor was successfully removed from president Chávez’s abdomen early this week.

“The result was satisfying,” Jaua read from a statement. “President Chávez is in good physical condition, accompanied by family members, and is in direct and permanent contact with the executive vice president and the Bolivarian government.”

The president had flown to Havana, Cuba on Friday to undergo the surgery. It was the third time in the past year Chávez had been operated on, and the second time a lesion was removed from his abdomen.

The latest lesion was reported to have been two inches in diameter, and was identified last week after Chávez traveled to Havana for a routine examination.

The president has been notoriously guarded with details of his previous ailments, and this tumor was no exception. Few details have been released on the exact timing or placement of the surgery, and BBC World reports that this is likely the reason Chávez has travelled to Cuba for his operations.

The president is being treated at the Surgical Medical Research Center, which is known to be the best hospital in Cuba. Physicians there have treated Cuban leaders such as Fidel and Raul Castro, and few serious information leaks have made way to the media.

Despite his health issues, Chávez said he still plans to run for reelection in October. It would be his third consecutive term of six years. The president maintains that he is the only leader who can “guarantee peace” in the country, and those who are considering a possible replacement are betraying “the motherland”.