Venezuela President Chavez confident of recovery

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez expressed confidence he would make a full recovery after having a malign cancerous tumor removed and vowed to focus on battling the disease. Meanwhile the Wall Street Journal in the United States reported Chavez appears to be suffering from colon cancer, citing two sources with close knowledge of his condition. A week after his condition was announced, after a weeks-long stay in Cuba, Venezuelan officials have yet to confirm the type of cancer the leftist leader has, or whether he was undergoing chemotherapy to treat it. At a brief visit to a Venezuelan military academy, the 56-year-old anti-American leader told cadets: "I'm in one of those situations where I've been ambushed by life." The former paratrooper said he was "always a healthy cadet. I do not recall ever going to the infirmary." But he also said in the past months "I had pain that I ignored" because military training led him to "put the fatherland first." At a cabinet meeting broadcast on the official VTV station, the leftist Latin American flagbearer hit out at "rumors" of disunity and confirmed several posts, including Elias Jaua as his first vice-president. Suggestions of internal dissent emerged during Chavez's unprecedented absence from public life, his longest time away from the helm since becoming leader of Latin America's main oil producer in 1999. During nearly a month in Cuba, he underwent surgery to have a cancerous tumor removed -- but the Venezuelan public was kept in the dark about his cancer for weeks after the June 20 operation. Chavez returned unexpectedly Monday to Caracas -- on the eve of bicentennial independence celebrations -- rallying a crowd with trademark gusto but speaking only for 30 minutes, a short address by his standards. "I had an embedded malign tumor and I continue to fight against it," Chavez said Thursday, explaining that doctors had ordered him to limit his public appearances. Chavez has not said exactly what type of cancer he has or if he is still undergoing chemotherapy sessions. Venezuelan officials have said only that it was in his pelvic area, leading some to suggest it could be colon cancer. Venezuelan politics have become so highly personalized that Chavez's health is essential for the survival of his leftist Bolivarian Revolution -- and there is no clear heir to continue his legacy. Chavez's policies "without Chavez is not Chavismo, because Chavez is Chavismo," said Federico Welsch, a political science professor at the Simon Bolivar University in Caracas. "We are seeing supporters gathering around their leader, but behind the scenes no doubt knives are being sharpened," he said. Chavez, who has been president of Venezuela since 1999 and has already declared his intention to seek another six-year term in 2012, has nationalized key sectors of the Venezuelan economy, such as oil. His anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist rhetoric, regional powerbrokering skills and health and education programs for the poor have garnered him strong public support hovering at around 50 percent in most surveys. No opposition leaders took part in the bicentennial parade as Venezuela is sharply polarized along political lines and the differences between the pro- and anti-Chavez sides are wider than ever.