Chavez’s Longest Silence Since Cancer Fuels Health Rumors
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Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s longest absence from public view since he first underwent cancer surgery 18 months ago is fueling speculation that his health is worse than he’s letting on.
Chavez, who is in Cuba to aid his recovery from an unspecified form of cancer, hasn’t been seen in public for 20 days nor has the government released images of the self-declared socialist leader since a live appearance on state television on Nov. 15. That surpasses an 18-day silence in June 2011, when doctors in Havana removed a baseball-sized tumor from his pelvic area. Unlike previous convalescences, he hasn’t made use of his Twitter account or called into television programs either.