President Chávez to undergo in Cuba hyperbaric oxygen therapy

Diosdado Cabello, the speaker of the Venezuelan National Assembly (AN), read out a notice from President Hugo Chávez, requesting authorization to leave the country in direction to Cuba in order to undergo adjuvant treatment. He promised to be present on January 10 for his re-inauguration and in order to introduce the Country Plan 2013-2019.

"I have been recommended special treatment with multiple sessions of hyperbaric oxygen therapy which, together with physiotherapy, completes the healing process," reads the notice signed by the Venezuelan leader and read by the Congress speaker in a special session held at Bolívar Square in Maracay, the capital city of central Aragua state, on the occasion of the Military Aviation Day.

Authorization was requested from Tuesday, November 27. No date of return was specified.

In June 2011, President Chávez was diagnosed with cancer. The event did not prevent him from running for reelection and winning last October 7.