Mixed signals on ailing Chavez spark confusion

CARACAS (AFP) – Mixed signals from officials in Venezuela  sparked confusion on Monday over the condition of cancer-stricken President  Hugo Chavez, under treatment in a Cuban hospital for over a month.

Chavez is “fighting for his life”, former 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.

Cuban leader Fidel Castro, second from left, Cuba’s President Raul Castro, second from right, and Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister Bruno Rodriguez, right, listen to Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez during a private meeting in Havana, Cuba. Fernandez is in Cuba to visit President Chavez, who is recovering from cancer surgery.AP

Communications Minister Ernesto Villegas, however, said that Chavez,  hospitalised in Cuba following his fourth cancer operation last month, was  doing better.

“Despite his delicate health state since his complex surgery on December  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,” he added.

Chavez, whose OPEC-member nation controls the world’s largest proven oil  reserves, has been out of sight 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 fuelled speculation about his prospects for  a full recovery – and his political future.

The latest, conflicting reports followed a denial from Chavez’s brother  Adan 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, Vice President Nicolas  Maduro, met his ailing boss late Saturday.

During his trip, Maduro also met Cuban President Raul Castro along with  Venezuelan Parliament President Diosdado Cabello, Energy Minister Rafael  Ramirez and Attorney General Cilia Flores.

A slew of leftist leaders and Venezuelan officials have also come to

Chavez’s bedside, and Brazil’s former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is  planning a trip to Havana in late January, according to his spokesman.

During his 2003-2010 rule, Lula, himself a cancer survivor, built a strong  relationship with the Chavez government in power since 1999.