President Chávez admits new operation

Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez reported that he would undergo surgery to resect a mass of two centimeters in diameter from the same site where he was removed a cancerous tumor in June 2010.

"I have been forced to disclose the information. A new mass has been found on the same site where the cancerous tumor was detected last June. It is a small mass of two centimeters and that involves a new surgery," Chávez revealed.

The Head of State apologized for the news about his health condition. "I regret to inform the Venezuelan people, because I do know that as well as some over there are happy, I know that most will suffer out of this," he reasoned.

Chávez explained that last Saturday he flew to Cuba for the customary testing. "I was made a CAT scan with contrast, in addition to the magnetic resonance imaging to ascertain whether somewhere in the body there was any trace of a new threat of that disease. And in the face of so many rumors, I resolved to advise the country."

The president gave the news at Santa Inés Industrial Complex, located in Barinas state, where he landed in from Cuba.

@aliciadelarosa