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| Hugo Chávez undergoes cancer surgery in Havana | Hugo Chávez undergoes cancer surgery in Havana |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| Hugo Chávez is scheduled to undergo cancer-related surgery in Havana on Tuesday, his fourth operation in 18 months. | Hugo Chávez is scheduled to undergo cancer-related surgery in Havana on Tuesday, his fourth operation in 18 months. |
| After announcing on Saturday night in Caracas that a thorough examination had detected a recurrence of malignant cells, the Venezuelan president returned to Cuba on Monday morning for further surgery. | |
| "It is absolutely necessary, absolutely essential that I undergo this new surgical procedure. And this must happen in the next days. The doctors had suggested it be yesterday, yesterday at the latest, or this weekend," Chávez said during a nationwide broadcast. | |
| He said he had returned to Venezuela to reveal this latest development and to designate his vice-president, Nicolas Maduro, as his successor should he be unable to reassume power. But he vowed to return. | |
| Chávez first underwent surgery 18 months ago to remove an undisclosed type of cancer from his pelvic region. | |
| The announcement was accompanied by demonstrations of solidarity both at home and from leaders and Chávez supporters around the world. In Venezuela on Sunday, hundreds of supporters gathered in main squares around the country to conduct group prayers and chant slogans of support. | The announcement was accompanied by demonstrations of solidarity both at home and from leaders and Chávez supporters around the world. In Venezuela on Sunday, hundreds of supporters gathered in main squares around the country to conduct group prayers and chant slogans of support. |
| A vigil presided over by Bolivia's president, Evo Morales, was held in La Paz and attended by Hollywood actor and long-time admirer Sean Penn. "I admire President Chávez for his courage and his freedom to fight … Chávez is one of the most impressive forces this planet has, and it is with this same force that we must express to him our love," Penn said. | |
| The Ecuadorean president, Rafael Correa, accompanied Chávez to Havana and met Raoul and Fidel Castro. He referred to Chávez as a "historical president and an extraordinary human being". | |
| During a televised meeting with the upper echelons of the Venezuelan armed forces, Chávez said he was not stepping down from power, only handing it temporarily to Maduro, who stood by his side. | During a televised meeting with the upper echelons of the Venezuelan armed forces, Chávez said he was not stepping down from power, only handing it temporarily to Maduro, who stood by his side. |
| Chávez was elected for a fourth consecutive term in October and is scheduled to be sworn in on 10 January. He has been in power since 1998. The Venezuelan constitution stipulates that if the president is declared unable to govern within the last two years of his office the vice-president will take over until the end of the presidential term, when new elections must be called. | |
| State TV images broadcast at 7am showed Chávez hugging several of his closest allies on the tarmac. Before boarding the plane he held up a closed fist and uttered one of his traditional salutes: "Long live the fatherland". | State TV images broadcast at 7am showed Chávez hugging several of his closest allies on the tarmac. Before boarding the plane he held up a closed fist and uttered one of his traditional salutes: "Long live the fatherland". |