Article updated: 3/5/2013 9:16 AM

Venezuela: Chavez hit by new, severe infection

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A woman holds a purchased copy of a photo showing Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez at the hospital in Havana, with two of his daughters. Venezuela's government said that President Hugo Chavez's respiratory problems have gotten worse and that the ailing leader is in "very delicate" condition. Communications Minister Ernesto Villegas said late Monday March 4, 2013 in a statement read on national television that Chavez has a "severe infection." The 58-year-old Chavez first revealed an unspecified cancer in the pelvic region in June 2011, and reported undergoing radiation treatment and chemotherapy after earlier operations. He underwent cancer surgery in Cuba on Dec. 11 and flew back to Caracas on Feb. 18.

Associated Press file photo/Feb. 15, 2013

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President Hugo Chavez is breathing with greater difficulty as a new and severe respiratory infection has taken hold, Venezuela’s government said, describing the cancer-stricken president’s condition as “very delicate.” A brief statement read on national television by Communications Minister Ernesto Villegas late Monday carried the sobering news about the charismatic 58-year-old socialist leader’s deteriorating health.