Chávez worries deepen

CARACAS, (AP):President Hugo Chávez has been receiving chemotherapy since recovering from a severe respiratory infection in mid-January and "continues his battle for life," his vice-president said late last Friday.

Vice-president Nicolas Maduro suggested the chemotherapy was continuing in the government's first mention of it as among treatments that Venezuela's cancer-stricken president has received since his December 11 cancer surgery in Cuba.

Maduro made the disclosure after a Mass for Chávez in a new chapel outside the military hospital where authorities say the socialist leader has been since being flown back to Caracas on February 18.

The vice-president quoted Chávez as saying he decided to return to Venezuela because he was entering "a new phase" of "more intense and tough" treatments and wanted to be in Caracas for them.

Maduro's offering of the most detailed rundown to date of Chávez's post-operative struggle came hours after an accusation by opposition leader Henrique Capriles that the government has repeatedly lied about Chávez's condition.

"We'll see how they explain to the country in the (coming) days all the lies they've been telling about the president's situation," Capriles, whom Chávez defeated in October elections, said in a tweet.

Chávez has not been seen or heard from since going to Cuba for his fourth cancer surgery, except for a set of "proof of life" photos released two weeks ago while he was still in Havana.

Chávez first revealed an unspecified cancer in the pelvic region in June 2011, and reported undergoing radiation treatment and chemotherapy after earlier operations.

The government has sent mixed signals on Chávez's condition, although Maduro has said several times that Chávez was battling for his life.

Maduro, Chávez's chosen successor, repeated that Friday, and accused opponents of spreading rumours about Chávez's health to destabilise the nation.