Chavez Condition Deteriorates, Venezuela Says

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's health has deteriorated and remains delicate, the country's Communication and Information Minister Ernesto Villegas has revealed.

Villegas announced on Venezuela's national TV broadcaster VTV that the president "has a new and severe respiratory infection" and stressed that the general health state of Chavez continues to be "very delicate" as he is undergoing chemotherapy with high impact and other complementary treatments.

The president remains clinging to life, aware of the difficulties he is facing in strict compliance with the program designed by the medical team, Villegas said, according to Xinhua.

Chavez, who has ruled Venezuela for 13 years, underwent four surgeries and four courses of chemotherapy in Cuba and Venezuela within the past two years. His fourth operation, to remove cancerous tissue, took place in Cuba on December 11.

Chavez's new term inauguration had been slated for January 11, but he was unable to attend it for health reasons. On January 9, Venezuela's Supreme Court ruled to postpone Chavez's inauguration until he completed his latest round of treatment.