Communication minister: Chávez faces a respiratory failure

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is facing a respiratory failure following a severe lung infection after he underwent on December 11 his third operation for a cancer that, in his own words, reappeared after his reelection on October 7.

This was announced late on Thursday by Minister of Communication and Information Ernesto Villegas, who read an official statement to inform on the health status of Chávez, who is hospitalized in Havana, Cuba, accompanied by his closest relatives. Villegas stressed that the respiratory failure requires Chávez to adhere strictly to medical treatment.

"After the delicate surgery last December 11, Commander Chávez has faced complications related to a severe lung infection. This infection has resulted in respiratory failure requiring Commander Chávez to adhere strictly to medical treatment," read Villegas.

In a two-minute obligatory simultaneous radio and television broadcast, Villegas said the government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela was confident that the medical team "has closely monitored the patient's clinical course and has acted with utmost accuracy to address all the difficulties that have emerged."

Finally, he warned against a "psychological war unleashed by transnational media about the health of the Head of State, with the ultimate goal of destabilizing the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela; disregarding the results of the presidential vote held on October 7 and putting an end to the Bolivarian revolution led by Chávez. Such purposes are contrary to the firm unity of the Bolivarian Government, the organized people and the Bolivarian Armed Forces supporting the leadership and the political ideology of Commander Hugo Chávez."