VENEZUELA: President Hugo Chavez's son-in-law posts on Twitter that the ailing leader is in stable condition while Venezuelans pray for their leader's health

Record ID: 702546

  • Title: VENEZUELA: President Hugo Chavez's son-in-law posts on Twitter that the ailing leader is in stable condition while Venezuelans pray for their leader's health
  • Date: 1st January 2013
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WITH POSTERS AND SIGNS SUPPORTING CHAVEZ
  • Embargoed: 16th January 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of
  • Country: Venezuela
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA1EMP3YHEHA4VJFNX3MTVENU65
  • Story Text: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is in stable condition and spent Monday (December 31) with his daughters, the cancer-stricken leader's son-in-law said in an appeal for supporters to ignore rumours about his condition.
    Chavez has not been seen in public nor heard from in more than three weeks. The vice president said late on Sunday that the 58-year-old was suffering a third set of complications after surgery in Cuba on Dec. 11, his fourth operation in 18 months.

    "Compatriots, DON'T believe in ill-intentioned rumours," Science Minister Jorge Arreaza, who is married to Chavez's daughter Rosa Virginia, wrote on Twitter from Havana where they have been at the former soldier's bedside.

    "President Chavez spent the day quietly and stable, accompanied by his daughters."
    Chavez has not provided details of the cancer that was first diagnosed in June 2011, leading to speculation among Venezuela's 29 million people and criticism from opposition leaders.
    Earlier, Venezuelans around Caracas gathered to pray for the ailing leader.
    Among the faithful at the church was Numa Molina, who called the Chavez a 'family member'.

    "Today we are here to give thanks to Christ and ask him to give a prayer for our president at this end of the year. The end of the year caught us with a sick family member, but one with an unshakeable desire to live, strength and hope," Molina said.
    Chavez supporter Mirian Rada said the ordeal would bring Venezuelans together.

    "What I want is for him to recover and come home soon. All this is to bring us together. There is no opposition. There is no evil. This is a hymn, everyone saying one prayer so he comes back to his country to complete his mission and continue living like he deserves," she said.
    Meanwhile, a New Year's Eve concert in a Caracas was cancelled so people could go home and pray for Chavez, according to Ernesto Villegas, Venezuela's minister of communications and information.

    "It was decided to suspend tonight's concert to allow everyone can go home early and ring in the new year with their families, with their children, and say a prayer for commander Chavez, for the health of the sick, for the health of our homeland Venezuela, for our future, for future generations," Villegas said during a vigil for Chavez.
    Officials have said that he suffered unexpected bleeding as result of the complex, six-hour operation on his pelvic area on December 11, and that doctors then had to fight a respiratory infection, which also caused his latest setback on Sunday.
    The president's condition is being watched closely around Latin America, especially in other leftist-run nations such as Cuba, Ecuador and Bolivia which depend on subsidized fuel shipments and other Venezuelan aid for their fragile economies.
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