Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's health status has been upgraded to "favorable" from "stable" after undergoing a 6-hour cancer surgery Tuesday in Cuba, Vice President Nicolas Maduro said. During the procedure, Chavez suffered bleeding that that was brought under control, Maduro added in remarks to a large crowd in the Venezuelan state of Aragua. Specific details about the procedure—his fourth cancer-related operation in Havana—have been sparse. The location of the bleeding, the severity of the complications and even the types and locations of tumors removed have remained under wraps. Outside medical experts have said that Chavez could be suffering from an aggressive type of sarcoma and doubt the cancer can be cured. Over the weekend Chavez announced that if his illness affects his ability to govern, he would want Vice President Nicolas Maduro to succeed him. Ecuadorean President Rafael Correra visited Cuba to wish his ally well. He too acknowledged the possibility of Chavez' illness limiting his presidency. "Chavez is very important for Latin America, but if he can't continue at the head of Venezuela, the processes of change will have to continue," Correra said Wednesday.
