'Hugo's back and vows to fight on'

VENEZUELA: President Hugo Chavez surprised and in many cases delighted Venezuelans by returning home Monday ending a more than two-month absence in Cuba for cancer treatment.

Even as passionate Chavez supporters took to the streets in noisy celebration, and foreign dignitaries congratulated Chavez and urged him to rest, the next step for the oil-rich country remained unclear. It was not immediately known when, if at all, Chavez would be sworn in by the Supreme Court to begin the new term he won in elections late last year. A Supreme Court source said the tribunal is ready and waiting for the go-ahead from Chavez and his medical team.

That is unusual in this country he so thoroughly dominates both politically and personally. "We have arrived again in our Venezuelan homeland," Chavez wrote. "Thank you, God. Thank you, my beloved people. We will continue my treatment here." Chanting and banner-waving Chavez supporters gathered outside his hospital and his supporters danced and sang in the city's central Plaza Bolivar.

Venezuelans had neither seen nor heard from him since he left for Cuba December 10 for a fourth round of cancer surgery, although on Friday photos of a smiling Chavez were shown on television.

The government said it was hard for him to speak because has been fitted with a tracheal tube, due to a post-operative respiratory infection. Chavez was first diagnosed with cancer in mid 2011.

Government updates on his condition have been sketchy, fueling speculation that the president was worse off than officials admit. The government had never said what kind of cancer he had nor when he might return home. Now, seemingly out the blue, Chavez is back.

The most visible face of the Latin American left, the garrulous populist is a thorn in the side of Washington for his alignment of oil-rich Venezuela with nations such as Iran, Syria and Cuba.

Among throngs of cheering supporters Mauro Delgado, an Ecuadoran taxi driver who has lived in Caracas for 34 years, declared: "If God is keeping him alive it must be for something." From Cuba, Fidel Castro hailed his long-time friend's return, saying a long and anxious wait is over for the Venezuelan people thanks to Chavez's "stunning physical stamina and the total dedication of the doctors." Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa, himself re-elected Sunday and a close Chavez ally, jokingly said he had received congratulations from Chavez.

"I really, really appreciate your congratulations, Commander Chavez, but I am angry. Forget about me and get some rest," Correa said. "Venezuela, your beloved Latin America and we, your friends, all need you." The 58-year-old Chavez, who has been in power for more than 14 years, had declared himself free of cancer after earlier rounds of surgery and went on to win another six year term in elections last October.

AFP