Hugo Chavez admits he is a cancer
Actually, Venezuela's simian prince and the second coming of the "Monkey of the Andes" admitted he has cancer, but we all know that he, his associates in Latin American, and his handlers in Havana have been a cancer on this world for decades.
CARACAS, July 1 – Venezuela’s socialist leader Hugo Chávez acknowledged he had surgery for cancer, shaking the political system he has dominated for more than a decade and alarming supporters counting on him to win re-election in 2012.
The usually loquacious Mr Chávez, 56, confirmed in a stern speech on Thursday that he had undergone surgery in Cuba to remove a cancerous tumour and was receiving more treatment. He said he needed time to recover before returning to Venezuela to run his self-styled socialist revolution.
Supporters vowed they will continue his leftist drive, which has included nationalisation of vast swaths of the economy, a broad diplomatic challenge to Washington's dominance of the region and a steady takeover of an oil industry that is a key supplier to the US.
"We will live and we will conquer. Until my return!" Mr Chávez ended Thursday night's emotion-charged address from Havana.
In poor Caracas shantytowns, where Mr Chávez is still widely loved for using oil revenues to build new clinics and schools, supporters saluted him with fireworks. "He's alive! He's alive!" one group shouted in the poor Catia area after the speech.
Opposition leaders, seeking to rally around a unity candidate to be picked in February for the 2012 presidential vote, may take the news as a sign Mr Chávez is weakened and less likely to win next year's vote after sweeping repeated elections since 1998.
“For the Republic, the best thing that can happen is for the president to recover and to take over full governance, so that the natural political process can evolve, which is to carry out elections next year,” said Teodoro Petkoff, who runs the opposition newspaper Tal Cual.
The opposition was trying hard to avoid appearing gleeful at Mr Chávez's ill health, though some detractors posted vitriolic messages on Twitter and other sites.
If you are so inclined, you can see video of the "Monkey of the Andes'" admission HERE.
I assume Cardinal Ortega will hold a mass, or several, on behalf of his full and speedy recovery.
Maybe McGovern can make a new friend and visit with Chavez as well while he's down there.
Maybe he'd like to spend the rest of his life in the tropical paradise. He doesn't seem to have any love for the freedom that he has here.
[...] bloggers react to Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez' announcement that he had a malignant tumour removed. [...]
[...] bloggers react to Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez' announcement that he had a malignant tumour [...]