Cuba Releases First Photos of Post-Surgery Hugo Chavez

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez walks in the hospital in Havana, Cuba, Friday March 2, 2012. (AP Photo/Estudios Revolucion) (AP2012)

Havana – Cuba released the first photos of ailing Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez following his surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. The shots show Chávez smiling and talking with former Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

One of the photographs released by Cuban state media late Friday shows Chávez in a blue, white and black track suit walking in a carpeted room without any aid. He is smiling broadly.

Others show Chávez sitting across from Castro as the two men chat, apparently in a Havana hospital. The gray-bearded Castro is also wearing a track suit. Behind them is a Venezuelan flag and a painting of South American independence hero Simón Bolívar.

Chávez, 57, flew to Cuba on Feb. 24 to have a growth removed from the same part of the pelvic region where a larger, malignant tumor was extracted last year.

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Earlier in a telephone call to Venezuelan state television, Chávez said doctors have put him on a special diet, and he's taking daily walks and spending time with close relatives.

There has been no word on whether the new lesion is cancerous. During his phone call, Chávez did not provide specific details of the surgery or the tumor that was removed.

"I cannot neglect my recuperation treatment for even a minute," Chávez said. "I continue recovering, thanks to Venezuela's support, the Cuban people, the doctors here in Cuba, to the love from the people that fills me."

"I'm taking flight, raising the fatherland of the future," he added.

Venezuelan Information Minister Andres Izarra said in a message posted on the Twitter social networking site that Chávez also met on Friday with Cuban President Raúl Castro and received a telephone call from Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who expressed satisfaction that Chávez is recuperating.

"Dilma was very happy as a result of the Venezuelan leader's quick recovery," Izarra wrote.

Chávez is seeking re-election Oct. 7.

His campaign rival, Henrique Capriles, has wished for the president to have a full and quick recovery, but also criticized Venezuelan authorities for releasing little specific information about the president's health.

Chavez has repeatedly vowed to recover his health and handily defeat Capriles, although some political analysts say the socialist leader's illness and medical treatment could keep him sidelined for weeks, bolstering his rival's chances in October's election.

In a Tweet sent following his contact with state TV, Chavez thanked supporters for participating in a rally led by National Assembly Diosdado Cabello and urged them to gear up for the election campaign.

"Move forward with preparation for the campaign," Chávez stated.

Cabello reassured government supporters at the rally in northeastern state of Yaracuy that Chávez would soon return.

"Chávez will continue commanding the ship of the Bolivarian Revolution," shouted Cabello from a stage overlooking the crowd, referring to the president's political movement. "We ask the Cuban people to return the 'comandante' in good health."

Some Venezuelans were skeptical of the president's affirmation that his health is rapidly improving.

Ana Maria Fernández, a 55-year-old street vendor who sells cigarettes, condoms and chewing gum outside a bar in gritty downtown Caracas, said she believes Chavez and his aides are exaggerating because they do not want Venezuelans to perceive him as weak.

"They always distort the truth," said Fernández, who said she opposes Chavez's socialist ideals. "He's suffering, and that's why he's not appearing on television, demonstrating that he's recovering."

Fernandez said she doubted the photographs that appeared on Friday were new, as officials had claimed.

"He's been to Cuba so many times, those images could have been taken any time," she said.

Others confided that Chávez is going to bounce back soon.

"Our president is a strong man, he's overcome so many obstacles over the years, and I believe him when he says he's overcoming this one," said Leonardo Padrón, a 47-year-old taxi driver who plans to vote for Chavez's re-election to another 6-year term.

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Earlier Friday, Gen. Henry Rangel Silva, the defense minister and close Chávez confidant who was quoted in 2010 as saying the military would not accept an opposition election victory, said Venezuela's armed forces are dedicated to upholding democracy.

"We are strongly convinced the democratic system must prevail in the country," Rangel said.

He did not elaborate, but his statements appeared to be aimed at assuaging government opponents who have voiced concerns about the military's role of safeguarding polling stations and voting materials.

"We are an institution that supports the election process," Rangel said.

During his 13 years in office, Chávez has long promoted trusted officers and has increasingly sought to put his political stamp on the military command. Chávez survived a failed 2002 coup in which dissident military officers were involved, and he has since tried to ensure tighter control.

Chávez also instituted a new official salute for military members, "Socialist fatherland or death." He later changed it during his cancer struggle to "We will live and we will win!"

The former paratroop commander's influence over the armed forces has led to concerns among government adversaries that the military is putting its weight behind the president's political movement and no longer sees itself as an apolitical institution.

"The armed forces will be key to seeing the results of the election are respected," said Moya-Ocampos, an analyst working for London-based consulting firm IHS Global Insight and IHS Janes Information Group, suggesting Chávez's foes have no reason to be worried.

Based on reporting by The Associated Press.