Venezuela President Hugo Chavez said Sunday, March 11, that he would return home in the "upcoming days" from Cuba, where he is seeking treatment for the reappearance of cancer, and offered assurances that he was recovering well, The Wall Street Journal reported.
"It should not go past this week," Chavez said of his homecoming during a broadcast cabinet meeting from Havana that was aired as a "special program" on Venezuelan state television.
Surgeons in Cuba removed a small cancerous growth from the leader's pelvic region in late February and on Sunday Chavez said that post-operation exams have not found complications "of any kind."
The 57-year-old president thanked God and "all the saints," and added that he would begin radiation therapy in the coming weeks.
Chavez kicked off the gathering by leading his high-ranking aides in a round of applause and made cheerful small talk before launching into a rapid-fire list of government initiatives he was spearheading from abroad, including a poultry production plant built in the Venezuelan state of Portuguesa.
Chavez traveled to Cuba on Feb 24 following the surprising announcement that he was once again battling cancer after assuring Venezuelans for months that he was cured.
He underwent four rounds of chemotherapy last year after surgeons in Cuba removed a baseball-size tumor from his pelvic region in June. The latest procedure extracted a two-centimeter lesion from the same location, Venezuelan authorities have said. Chavez has sought most of his medical treatment out of the public eye in Cuba.
The former military officer, who is facing a hotly contested presidential election in October, has vowed to press on with his re-election campaign and says he is fit enough to remain in office.
Venezuelan officials have been tight-lipped about Chavez's health, refusing to identify the type or stage of cancer he faces. The lack of information has fed lingering speculation that the leader has hid a deteriorating condition and cast uncertainty over the coming presidential contest.
