Chavez starting more treatment

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has defeated a respiratory infection and has begun additional medical treatment in Cuba after struggling with complications following cancer surgery more than six weeks ago, a government spokesman said Saturday.

Venezuelan Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said it remains unclear how soon Chavez could return home and did not specify the kind of treatment he is receiving.

“Vice President (Nicolas) Maduro estimates that the time it could take President Chavez to return is within weeks,” Villegas said.

He read a statement that went beyond past government reports in providing additional information about Chavez’s Dec. 11 surgery but didn’t describe the newest treatment. While refusing to release many details about the president’s cancer, authorities in the past have reported on specific treatments, including radiation and chemotherapy.

“Forty-five days after carrying out a complex surgical intervention for the removal of a malignant lesion in the pelvis, with severe, acute complications, the patient’s general evolution is favorable,” Villegas said, reading the statement.

Associated Press