CARACAS: Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez returns to Cuba on Sunday for more surgery after a recurrence of cancer led him to name a successor for the first time in case the disease ends his 14-year dominance of the OPEC nation.
Supporters gathered in squares across the South American country, shocked and saddened by the news from the 58-year-old socialist leader, who made the announcement in a late-night broadcast on Saturday from the presidential palace.
In his first public acknowledgement that cancer may cut his tumultuous years in power, Chavez said Vice President Nicolas Maduro would take over if he is incapacitated, and urged supporters to vote for him if an election is held.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 10th, 2012.
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