Madrid ( CNN ) -- Early editions of Spain 's leading newspaper Thursday displayed a large front-page photo claiming to be an `` unprecedented '' and `` exclusive '' look at Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez 's medical treatment in Cuba . But the intubated man lying in a hospital bed shown in the photo was n't Chavez , the newspaper soon discovered , and it began backtracking . El Pais took down the photo , which was on the newspaper 's website for about 30 minutes , and also recalled the early editions of its newspaper from newsstands . `` After learning that the image offered did not correspond to Chavez , El Pais also stopped distributing the print edition and started to send a new edition to retail outlets , '' the newspaper said in a statement on its website , explaining the retraction and apologizing to readers . Venezuelan VP accuses 'infiltrators ' of murder plot against him . El Pais declined to comment on the matter to CNN . The newspaper 's online statement said the photo had been provided by an agency that claimed it was an authentic image of Chavez . `` The daily has opened an investigation to determine the circumstances of what happened and the errors that could have been committed in the verification of the photo , '' the statement said . Several purported photos of the Venezuelan leader have circulated on social media in recent weeks , but Venezuela 's government has n't released any new photos of Chavez since he underwent cancer surgery in Cuba more than six weeks ago . The 58-year-old president has n't made any public appearances since then , either . The quick retraction by El Pais did not quell sharp criticism from the Venezuelan government and many on social media , who slammed the newspaper and said the photo was clearly taken from a 2008 YouTube video that had nothing to do with Chavez . Chavez ally : Ailing president undergoing physical therapy . `` As grotesque as it is false , the photo of 'Chavez intubated ' that today the venerable Spanish newspaper El Pais published on its front page , '' Venezuelan Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said in a Twitter post . Later Thursday , Villegas said the Venezuelan government plans to pursue legal action against the newspaper `` so that these type of acts do not go unpunished . '' `` We will use all the legal tools within our reach to proceed to repair the damage caused not only to Comandante Chavez , the president , but also to all of Venezuelan society , '' he said . The photo 's publication , Villegas said , was evidence of a right-wing media campaign that aims to spread fear and destabilize Venezuela . He also objected to the nature of the image , arguing that the newspaper 's editors never would have permitted the publication of a similar photo of a European president or a member of their own families . Diosdado Cabello , head of Venezuela 's National Assembly , said publishing the photo was no accident . `` Nobody believes that the photo that appears in El Pais of Spain is something accidental , '' he wrote in a Twitter post , arguing that the motive behind the photo 's publication was clear : `` hatred . '' Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner also took to Twitter to criticize the Spanish newspaper , calling the photo a `` dirty trick . '' Pilar Minguez was getting ready to open a bundle of newspapers as she set up her newsstand in Madrid early Thursday when she got word of the problem . `` Do n't open it . I have to take the newspapers , '' Minguez said a distributor told her . `` There was a problem , and they have to change the front page . '' Nothing like that has ever happened before , particularly with the prominent El Pais , Minguez said . `` It 's unbelievable , because with the number of filters it goes through , it is a little strange , truly , '' Minguez said . The newspaper provided additional details into its decision-making in an article posted online Thursday night , titled , `` The photo that El Pais never should have published . '' `` The newspaper will revise its verification procedures in view of the errors committed , '' the article said . But the El Pais article also said that after being assured by a news agency that the photo was authentic and taken by a Cuban nurse who had been part of Chavez 's medical team , El Pais had no way to confirm details about when the picture was taken `` due to the information restrictions under the Cuban regime . '' There was a lengthy debate among the paper 's editors about whether to publish the hospital photo , the newspaper said . `` The conclusion reached was that the image was relevant at a time when the health of Venezuelan president is a source of great controversy and heated political debate in his country , because of his absence during his inauguration and ... in light of the lack of transparency of the authorities , '' El Pais said . Venezuelan army backs Chavez amid uncertainty . CNN 's Al Goodman reported from Madrid . Catherine E. Shoichet wrote the story in Atlanta .
NEW : El Pais says it will continue its investigative procedures . Venezuela 's government says it intends to pursue legal action against newspaper . El Pais publishes a photo of an intubated man in a hospital bed , then later retracts it . The Spanish newspaper apologized to its readers .