Why is chavez getting treatment in cuba

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has arrived in Cuba, where he had months of cancer therapy, for further medical treatment. Mr Chavez, who was re-elected in October, is due to be sworn in for a third term in January. In a letter to the National Assembly, Mr Chavez said he needed further therapy to recover from this year's "tough electoral campaign".

There is no indication in his letter that the cancer has returned. A prolonged absence could potentially postpone major policy decisions, such as a widely expected devaluation of the bolivar currency after heavy pre-election state spending. After removal of a first cancerous tumor, Chavez wrongly declared himself cured in late He again pronounced himself cancer-free in mid after removal of a second tumor.

The hyperbaric oxygenation therapy, or HBOT, he was due to receive involves breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized chamber. Nelson Bocaranda, a prominent pro-opposition journalist, said Chavez had been suffering intense pain in his bones and waist area of late, forcing him to rest and take pain-killers. An opposition leader, Henry Ramos Allup, demanded transparency from the government. Chavez said in a phone call broadcast live on Venezuelan television that he had his first radiation session after he arrived late Saturday.

He said that would be the first of five daily treatments and that he expects to be back in Venezuela for a three-day break starting Thursday, before returning to Cuba for the next five-day round. Chavez chatted with his vice president, Elias Jaua, in the phone call while the television panned to views of a government-run fish farm. The president said he plans to keep on top of government business as he comes and goes from Cuba for the treatments.

Chavez has been recovering from a Feb. Venezuelan television showed Chavez saluting as he stepped off the plane holding hands with one of his daughters, and then embracing Castro. Daily newsletter Receive essential international news every morning. The content you requested does not exist or is not available anymore.

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