Chavez Suffers 'Complications, Respiratory Insufficiency'

Venezuela's President, Hugo Chavez, is suffering from "complications" brought on by a "severe lung infection" which developed after surgery, officials say.

Chavez, 58, had his fourth operation for cancer in Cuba on 11 December and then developed a respiratory infection.

In a statement from Caracas, Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said the infection had "led to a respiratory insufficiency".

"[Mr] Chavez has faced complications as a consequence of a severe lung infection," said Villegas.

The information minister did not provide details about the treatment or prognosis.

The president has not been seen in public since having cancer surgery in Havana, prompting persistent speculation about his condition.

Villegas warned Venezuelans not to be taken in by a "psychological war" being fought in the media which had the "ultimate aim of destabilising the Bolivarian republic".

Vice-President Nicolas Maduro and National Assembly Head Diosdado Cabello were among several dignitaries to have visited Chavez this week.

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez is conscious but in a "delicate and complex situation" after a cancer operation in Cuba, his deputy said on Wednesday.

Nicolas Maduro said he had seen the president twice in the past two days.

"We have faith in God and in the doctors that Hugo Chavez will continue to make progress and sooner or later will emerge from this complex and delicate post-operative state he is in," he told the Latin American satellite network Telesur.

The 58-year-old president has been in power since 1999 and was elected for a fourth term in office in October.

He is due to be sworn in for a new term on 10 January, but it is unclear if he will be able to attend ceremony.

Official New Year celebrations were called off after Maduro announced the president had suffered new complications.