Mixed signals from officials in Venezuela sparked confusion yesterday over the condition of cancer-stricken Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, under treatment in a Cuban hospital for more than a month.
Chavez is “fighting for his life,” former Venezuelan vice president Elias Jaua said.
“The situation is complex and delicate, but it is true that Hugo Chavez has fought and is fighting for his life,” said Jaua, who was in office from January 2010 until October last year.
However, Venezuelan Communications Minister Ernesto Villegas said that Chavez, hospitalized in Cuba following his fourth cancer operation last month, was doing better.
“Despite his delicate health state since his complex surgery on Dec. 11, his general health has improved in recent days,” Villegas said in a statement read on radio and television.
The president’s previously disclosed severe pulmonary infection was “under control,” but he still required treatment for “respiratory failure,” Villegas added.
Chavez, whose OPEC-member nation controls the world’s largest proven oil reserves, has not been seen or heard from since leaving for Cuba for the latest round of treatment in the 18 months since his condition was made public.
Uncertainty about his status has fueled speculation about his prospects for a full recovery — and his political future.
The latest, conflicting reports followed a denial from Chavez’s brother, Barinas State Governor Adan Chavez, on Saturday that the 58-year-old was in a coma. He insisted the Venezuelan leader was responding well to treatment and making progress on a daily basis.
The man Chavez has tipped to succeed him one day, Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro, met his ailing boss late on Saturday.
During his trip, Maduro also met Cuban President Raul Castro, along with Venezuelan Parliament President Diosdado Cabello, Venezuelan Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez and Venezuelan Attorney General Cilia Flores.
A slew of leftist leaders and Venezuelan officials have also come to Chavez’s bedside, and former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is planning a trip to Havana later this month, his spokesman said.
During his rule from 2003 to 2010, Lula, himself a cancer survivor, built a strong relationship with the Chavez government in power since 1999.
On Thursday, Venezuela’s government was forced to postpone the president’s inauguration when it became clear that Chavez could not attend. Authorities insist the Venezuelan constitution allows him to take the oath of office at a later time.
Although the opposition objected, calling for a medical board to review the absent leader’s health, the Supreme Court rejected the bid, ruling that the delayed swearing-in was constitutional.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese