Venezuelan president’s absence sparks speculations

There is growing uncertainty in Venezuela over President Hugo Chavez's health, two weeks after he underwent an operation in Cuba. On Friday Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said Chavez, who is still in Cuba, was in what he called a "great battle" for his health. Venezuelan president’s absence sparks speculations But Vice-President Elias Jaua accused the media of stoking speculation. "We will have Chavez for a long time," he said on Saturday. The normally loquacious Chavez (56) has been uncharacteristically quiet since apparently undergoing surgery on June 10 in Cuba. He had been visiting the island as part of an international tour. He had fallen silent after making a telephone call to state media on June 12 to tell them he was recovering quickly, and that medical tests showed no sign of a "malignant" illness. Chavez is normally a regular user of the micro-blogging site Twitter, but no messages were posted to the site for 19 days until Friday, when fresh tweets began to appear. They did not directly address the question of his health. The latest tweet sent on Saturday evening said his daughter Rosines had arrived to visit him with his grandchildren. But correspondents say the resumption of tweets will do little to address speculation about the president's health. He has not been seen - aside from in photos provided to the media showing Chavez being visited by Cuban leaders Fidel and Raul Castro in hospital. And there is little clear indication of when he will return to Venezuela. Opposition politicians have complained that it is unconstitutional for Chavez to govern from abroad. And correspondents say his absence has raised the question of who will succeed Chavez, in the absence of any obvious candidate with his charisma and ability to connect with his supporters. But on Saturday Jaua dismissed the speculation and drew a parallel with the reporting of an attempted coup d'etat in April 2002, when Chavez was ousted from power only to be returned two days later in a triumphant show of popular and military support. "Chavez is a human being who is recovering to continue the battle," he said. "The national and international press are rubbing their hands and rejoicing about the state of the president's health, even talking about the president's death, as they did back on April 11," he said, referring to the 2002 coup. "We tell them and remind them from here, that after April 11, there was an April 13" - the date when Chavez was returned to power. Hugo Chavez

Venezuelan president’s absence sparks speculations

But Vice-President Elias Jaua accused the media of stoking speculation.

"We will have Chavez for a long time," he said on Saturday.

The normally loquacious Chavez (56) has been uncharacteristically quiet since apparently undergoing surgery on June 10 in Cuba. He had been visiting the island as part of an international tour.

He had fallen silent after making a telephone call to state media on June 12 to tell them he was recovering quickly, and that medical tests showed no sign of a "malignant" illness.

Chavez is normally a regular user of the micro-blogging site Twitter, but no messages were posted to the site for 19 days until Friday, when fresh tweets began to appear.

They did not directly address the question of his health. The latest tweet sent on Saturday evening said his daughter Rosines had arrived to visit him with his grandchildren.

But correspondents say the resumption of tweets will do little to address speculation about the president's health.

He has not been seen - aside from in photos provided to the media showing Chavez being visited by Cuban leaders Fidel and Raul Castro in hospital. And there is little clear indication of when he will return to Venezuela.

Opposition politicians have complained that it is unconstitutional for Chavez to govern from abroad.

And correspondents say his absence has raised the question of who will succeed Chavez, in the absence of any obvious candidate with his charisma and ability to connect with his supporters.

But on Saturday Jaua dismissed the speculation and drew a parallel with the reporting of an attempted coup d'etat in April 2002, when Chavez was ousted from power only to be returned two days later in a triumphant show of popular and military support.

"Chavez is a human being who is recovering to continue the battle," he said.

"The national and international press are rubbing their hands and rejoicing about the state of the president's health, even talking about the president's death, as they did back on April 11," he said, referring to the 2002 coup.

"We tell them and remind them from here, that after April 11, there was an April 13" - the date when Chavez was returned to power.