Chavez supporters rejoice after first photos release

VENEZUELA: Supporters of President Hugo Chavez displayed new confidence Saturday after the government released the first post-surgical photos of the ailing Venezuelan leader, in which he appears bed-ridden but smiling in the company of his daughters.

The pictures show the 58-year-old Chavez lying on his back in a Havana hospital and leafing through Thursday's edition of the official Cuban newspaper Granma. Chavez supporters rejoiced at the confirmation that the president was alive. The four images broke a virtual news blackout for Venezuelans who have been living in limbo without their media-happy comandante -- a populist firebrand who is the most visible face of the Latin American left and who has irked the United States by aligning himself with Iran, Syria and Cuba.

For over two months Venezuelans had not seen a photo or TV image of Chavez, nor heard the voice of a man usually omnipresent across state media. Sketchy government updates about his health fueled speculation he was actually dead.

Chavez's absence has also enraged political opponents, who have wondered aloud who is running Venezuela, which has the world's largest proven oil reserves.

He was last seen as he left Caracas airport on December 10 for treatment in Cuba.

AFP