Spanish El País apologizes for fake photo of President Chávez

Madrid-based daily newspaper El País apologized on Thursday after making a front page in both its printed and electronic editions of a man put on tubes, laying on a hospital bed, and mistaken as an exclusive image of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

"EL País offers apologies to its readers for the damage caused. The daily newspaper has started an inquest into the causes of the event and any mistakes that have been made in the verification of the photo," the newspaper posted on its website, AFP quoted.

The newspaper added that its management ordered to remove and replace the first edition of its printed version that had been distributed earlier. It also took the photo out of its website.

The image, which remained for half an hour on El País website is "both grotesque and fake," Venezuelan Minister of Information Ernesto Villegas twitted.