Musicians perform in front of an image of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez that reads in Spanish "singing, dance, life and hope" during a concert in support of him marking the 8th anniversary of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas group, ALBA, in Managua, Nicaragua, Monday Dec. 17, 2012. Chavez is recovering in Cuba from a surgery, his fourth operation related to his pelvic cancer since June 2011. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
Musicians perform in front of an image of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez that reads in Spanish "singing, dance, life and hope" during a concert in support of him marking the 8th anniversary of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas group, ALBA, in Managua, Nicaragua, Monday Dec. 17, 2012. Chavez is recovering in Cuba from a surgery, his fourth operation related to his pelvic cancer since June 2011. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
FILE - In this April 7, 2006 file photo, Adan Chavez, Venezuela's ambassador to Cuba and Hugo Chavez's older brother, smiles during an interview at his home in Havana, Cuba. Adan Chavez said Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012 that widespread abstention in the recent elections for state governors hurt both the government party and the opposition, and said that some followers of President Hugo Chavez even voted for opposition candidates. Adan Chavez was re-elected as governor of Barinas state. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano, File)
A boy plays in front of a graffiti that reads in Spanish "Chavez, heard of my country" at the neighborhood of Petare in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, Dec. 17, 2012. Smarting after a bruising loss in state elections, Venezuela's opposition will now be forced to reassess its strategy and rebuild quickly to prepare for presidential elections that many expect could be called to replace ailing leftist President Hugo Chavez. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
FOR USE AS DESIRED, YEAR END PHOTOS - FILE - In this July 24, 2012 file photo, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez holds up a pair of pistols that he says belonged to Venezuela's independence hero Simon Bolivar during a ceremony marking 229th anniversary of Bolivar's birth at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela. Bolivar is the namesake of Chavez's Bolivarian Revolution movement, and his government is putting the finishing touches on a new mausoleum to house Bolivar's remains. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File)
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) ? President Hugo Chavez's elder brother reportedly was heading to Cuba on Tuesday to visit the Venezuelan leader amid uncertainty and concern at home over his condition after a fourth cancer-related surgery.
The government newspaper Correo del Orinoco said Adan Chavez planned to leave in the afternoon. It also said that the president's father, Hugo de los Reyes Chavez, had plans to travel to Havana and that Chavez's mother might go with him, though that had not been confirmed.
Against the backdrop of Chavez's illness, many Venezuelans are talking about the possibility of a looming transition of power and a new presidential election. Before undergoing surgery, Chavez designated Vice President Nicolas Maduro as his chosen successor to take his place if necessary.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos expressed concern Tuesday about what might happen if a post-Chavez transition were to go badly. In a radio interview, he said a peaceful and problem-free change would have "no repercussion in the region."
"What would be terrible is if that transition weren't easy, were problematic," Santos said in an interview with Colombia's W Radio. "That would generate problems in the region. That's why I've said that Chavez is a factor of stability at this time."
Chavez's government has been appointed a facilitator in peace talks between Colombia's government and rebels, and Santos noted that he has had a good relationship with Venezuela's leftist leader despite their differences.
"I hope it stays that way, whether with Chavez or with his replacement," Santos said, adding that he had spoken with Maduro on various occasions.
Chavez hasn't spoken publicly since his Dec. 11 surgery for an undisclosed type of pelvic cancer. It was his fourth cancer-related operation since June 2011.
Government officials say the president's four children and a son-in-law have been with him in Havana since the operation. The government has said Chavez suffered complications during the operation but has been recovering.
Santos said he didn't have specific information about Chavez's condition.
"I know that it's complicated," Santos said in the interview. "He wouldn't have said goodbye in that way if he didn't have complications, but today I don't know his exact state of health, and nobody does."
"We've discussed this with other presidents, and the truth is they aren't very informed about exactly what state of health he is in today," Santos added.
The leaders of Bolivia and Uruguay have both expressed interest in traveling to Havana to visit Chavez, though so far neither has made the trip.
In Brazil, Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota said that government officials were monitoring reports of Chavez's health and that the latest news indicated "stabilization and even positive developments" in his condition, state-run news agency Agencia Brasil reported.
Adan Chavez, who is the eldest of six brothers in the president's family, was re-elected governor in the president's home state of Barinas over the weekend.
On Tuesday, the governor said the relatively low 53 percent turnout in the nationwide elections was a problem that affected candidates in both camps. He added that some who voted for the president's re-election in October had apparently voted for the opposition this time.
"Some seem to have had the nerve to have voted for opposition candidates. That, of course, is a big contradiction," he said in a televised speech. "It shows an ideological weakness that we have to continue working on."
Chavez, 58, is scheduled to be sworn in for a new six-year term Jan. 10. Under Venezuela's constitution, if the president dies, is incapacitated or steps down, a new election would be held within 30 days.
National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello declined to speculate when asked at a news conference whether Chavez will be back in Venezuela by Jan. 10.
"There's a date established in the constitution, and our concern really is that the president recovers and is totally healthy, and, God willing, he will be," Cabello said.
___
Associated Press writers Cesar Garcia in Bogota, Colombia, Bradley Brooks in Sao Paulo, and Fabiola Sanchez and Ian James in Caracas contributed to this report.
Associated PressEddie Murphy Dead michelle obama robin roberts Democratic National Convention 2012 myocardial infarction What Is Labor Day jersey shore
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.