Chavez joking, giving orders

CUBA: Venezuela's top diplomat said Monday that President Hugo Chavez was joking and giving orders, after disappearing from the public eye six weeks ago for cancer surgery in Cuba.

Chavez designated Vice President Nicolas Maduro as his deputy before flying to Cuba for a fourth round of cancer surgery on December 11. He has not been heard from since.

Opposition members have demanded Chavez speak to the Venezuelan people in state media if he is able, but he has not.

“Compatriots just leaving a meeting with our Commander President Hugo Chavez. We shared some jokes and laughed,” Foreign Minister Elias Jaua said in a message on Twitter.

“He made decisions on our participation in the CELAC Summit. So happy we are moving forward,” added Jaua, referring to an upcoming summit of Latin American and Caribbean States this week in the Chilean capital Santiago.

AFP