Havana, Cuba (CNN) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is recovering after facing complications during cancer surgery this week, officials said. "This process of recuperation ... will require a prudent time, as a result of the complexity of the surgical procedure, and also because of complications that came up in the surgery, when bleeding presented itself, requiring the adoption of corrective measures to permit its proper control," Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said in a televised address Thursday afternoon. Vice President Nicolas Maduro said doctors had acted quickly to control the unexpected bleeding. Speaking at a rally in northern Venezuela on Thursday evening, Maduro said Chavez's recuperation had "evolved from stable to favorable" but did not provide details about his long-term prognosis.
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Venezuela's vice president says President Hugo Chavez's recuperation is going favorably
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Chavez has asked officials "to prepare the people for any circumstance," he says
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Officials: Unexpected bleeding was a complication during Chavez's cancer surgery
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They have not specified what type of cancer the Venezuelan president is battling
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The information minister suggested Chavez might not be not be back in @placeholder in time for his scheduled inauguration, which is a month away.
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@placeholder "should be prepared to understand" if Chavez doesn't return to Venezuela before the inauguration on January 10, Villegas said.
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Venezuelans "should be prepared to understand" if Chavez doesn't return to @placeholder before the inauguration on January 10, Villegas said.
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His voice cracked as he asked @placeholder to remain united and pray for Chavez.
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Read more: @placeholder's Hugo Chavez emerges from 6 hours of surgery
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Over the weekend, as he prepared for the latest operation, Chavez said he wanted @placeholder to replace him if "something were to happen that would incapacitate me."
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The government in Havana has remained tight-lipped about the treatment of their close ally, who sends @placeholder millions of barrels of oil at deeply discounted prices.