Ian James
Venezuela’s Chavez back on the air after silence
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Monday that he expects to return to Venezuela in the coming days after finishing his latest round of cancer treatment, and is looking ahead to this year’s election campaign.
Chavez spoke in a telephone call aired on state television for the first time since he traveled to Cuba a week earlier. During the past week, he instead communicated with supporters through messages on Twitter.
“The opposition isn’t going to win presidential elections in Venezuela, never, ever again,” Chavez said. “We’re going to give them a devastating knockout.”
“I’m not campaigning still,” Chavez said, adding that he is carrying out his duties from Cuba “but in a special situation, from which I will emerge in the coming days and I will soon be there.”
Chavez noted that the presidential campaign will last three months ahead of the Oct. 7 vote, when he will go up against rival Henrique Capriles.
“I aim to get close, for us to get close, to 70 percent of the vote,” Chavez said. “We’re going to work very hard.”
He also criticized his political rivals saying they lack organization and a clear political project.
The 57-year-old president has been in Cuba since April 30 undergoing his latest round of radiation therapy treatment. He began the radiation treatments in Cuba in late March after an operation in February that he said removed a second tumor from his pelvic region.
Chavez’s longer absences from the public eye and uncertainty surrounding his illness have recently fed rumors in Venezuela that cancer could interfere with his re-election hopes.
But Chavez on Monday expressed optimism saying that in “the next period from 2013 to 2019, with the grace of God, we’re going to refine much more the construction of socialism.”
“We have to keep strengthening our leadership, and… when I say leadership it’s not only the leadership I exercise, but rather collective leadership,” Chavez said.
He also stepped into international affairs, saying he hopes the victory of Socialist Francois Hollande in France’s presidential election “marks a turn” for the country. Chavez called the outgoing administration of incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy “a terrible government” that had acted in concert with the U.S.
“Look at how the French government ended up, subordinated to the Yankee empire,” Chavez said, criticizing the French government’s role in last year’s conflict in Libya.
Venezuela’s Chavez active, upbeat on TV in Cuba
In this photo released by Miraflores Press Office, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, left, kisses a crucifix beside his daughter Rosa in Havana, Cuba, Monday, April 23, 2012. President Hugo Chavez reappeared on television Monday after an eight-day silence, scoffing at rumors that his health took a turn for the worse and saying he plans to be back home Thursday after his latest round of cancer treatment in Cuba. (AP Photo/Miraflores Press Office/Estudios Revolucion)(Credit: AP) CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez appeared in video images for the first time in 10 days on Tuesday, chatting with aides and relatives in an upbeat outdoor encounter that allowed him to show supporters he remains vigorous despite his cancer treatment in Cuba.
The video, which was shown on Venezuelan television, displayed Chavez playing “bolas criollas,” a Venezuelan game similar to lawn bowling. It was Chavez’s first appearance in video since he traveled to Cuba on April 14 for his latest round of cancer treatment.
Continue Reading CloseCancer hasn’t dimmed Hugo Chavez’s electoral hopes
In this photo released by Miraflores Press Office, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez speaks during a televised program from the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday April 11, 2012. Chavez returned to Venezuela Wednesday night and said he's "doing well" following cancer treatment in Cuba. Chavez flew to Cuba last week for his third round of radiation therapy. Pictured left is Venezuela's Vice President Elias Jaua. (AP Photo/Miraflores Presidential Office)(Credit: AP) CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — With less than six months left until Election Day, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has hardly hit the campaign trail. Instead, he has been consumed with his fight against cancer, repeatedly traveling to Cuba for treatment and publicly vowing to defeat his illness.
While cancer would end the presidential ambitions of many politicians, Chavez’s struggle against the disease has in fact become his main rallying cry. Cancer could serve as a political asset if his health holds through the October vote, and that’s the big “if” hanging over Venezuelan politics.
Continue Reading CloseDeath of consul’s daughter spurs Venezuela outcry
Chilean Consul in Venezuela, Fernando Berendique, right front, helps to carry the coffin with the remains of his 19-year-old daughter Karen to a waiting hearse, in Maracaibo, Venezuela, Saturday March 17, 2012. Berendique said his daughter was shot early Saturday, while riding in a vehicle with her brother and another young man, when the trio ignored a command to stop by police at a checkpoint, fearing the officers might be robbers. The Prosecutor General's Office says in a statement that 11 police officers are under investigation for their roles in the death. Berendique's daughter is reported to have died after suffering three bullet wounds. (AP Photo/Fabiola Portillo)(Credit: AP) CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The killing of a Chilean diplomat’s teenage daughter by police is reigniting concerns among Venezuelans about excessive force by officers and their frequent involvement in violent crimes.
Nineteen-year-old Karen Berendique was riding in a vehicle with her older brother and another young man when police at a checkpoint opened fire early Saturday in the western city of Maracaibo, said her father Fernando Berendique, Chile’s honorary consul in the city.
He said they disobeyed a police command to stop, fearing the officers might be robbers.
Continue Reading CloseChavez makes energetic homecoming after surgery
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez waves to supporters as he embraces his daughter Rosa Virginia from a balcony at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday March 17, 2012. Chavez returned to Venezuela Friday nearly three weeks after undergoing cancer surgery in Cuba. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)(Credit: AP) CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Hugo Chavez held an energetic homecoming celebration on Saturday, rallying thousands of supporters from a balcony of the presidential palace after nearly three weeks in Cuba for cancer surgery.
Chavez turned the event into a campaign rally, vowing to win re-election in the Oct. 7 presidential vote and demanding unity from his followers, denouncing a state governor who recently broke ranks with his party as a “traitor to the revolution.”
“This battle is hard and will be hard, but we’ll win it,” said Chavez, who gesticulated energetically as he spoke or listened to expressions of loyalty while standing for more than an hour. The crowd below chanted: “The people are with you!”
Continue Reading CloseIran Leader Defends Nuclear Program On LatAm Trip
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, left, and Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hold hands during a welcoming ceremony at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday Jan. 9, 2012. Ahmadinejad visited with Chavez as tensions rose with the U.S. over Tehran's nuclear program and a death sentence against an American man convicted of working for the CIA. Venezuela is the first leg of a four-nation tour that will also take Ahmadinejad to Nicaragua, Cuba and Ecuador. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)(Credit: AP) CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defended his country’s nuclear program as he began a four-nation tour of Latin America, joining his ally Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in accusing the U.S. and its allies of using the dispute to unjustly threaten Iran.
Both leaders dismissed U.S. concerns about Iran’s intentions in the Middle East and its growing diplomatic ties with Chavez and his allies in Latin America.
“They accuse us of being warmongers,” Chavez said. “They’re the threat.”
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