QUITO, February 18 (RIA Novosti) – Reports that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has returned home after more than two months of cancer treatment in Cuba surfaced Monday via the president’s Twitter account and local media.
“We have arrived again in our land of Venezuela. Thank you, my God!! Thank you, beloved people!! We will continue treatment here,” said a post on Chavez’s Twitter feed, which had been dormant since November 1.
Chavez, 58, who has some 4 million followers on Twitter, also thanked the leaders and people of Cuba.
A confirmation of Chavez’s return likewise appeared on the Twitter feed of Venezuela’s information minister, Ernesto Villegas.
Vice President Nicolas Maduro was cited by local press as saying Chavez had been transferred to a military hospital in the country’s capital, Caracas.
Chavez, who has ruled Venezuela for 13 years, has had four operations for cancer and four courses of chemotherapy in Cuba and Venezuela within the past two years. His fourth operation, to remove cancerous tissue, took place in Cuba on December 11.
His inauguration had been slated for January 11, but he was unable to attend for health reasons. On January 9, Venezuela’s Supreme Court ruled to postpone Chavez’s inauguration until he has completed his latest round of treatment.
