Venezuelans hold candlelight vigil for ailing Chavez

PanARMENIAN.Net - Hundreds of Venezuelans held a candlelight vigil Friday, Feb 22, for President Hugo Chavez, praying for their leader while he remained in a hospital undergoing cancer treatment.

According to The Associated Press, Chavez’s supporters gathered on a wide stairway in a hillside park near the presidential palace. They lit candles at sunset and sang along with a recording of a healthy Chavez belting out the national anthem.

Chavez hasn’t been seen since he returned to Venezuela on Monday from Cuba, where for 10 weeks he was recovering and fighting complications following his latest cancer surgery Dec 11.

Vice President Nicolas Maduro said Friday night that he and other officials had met with Chavez at the military hospital. Maduro said Chavez is continuing to undergo treatment for “respiratory insufficiency” and is breathing through a tracheal tube, which hinders speech.

“He communicated with us through various written ways to give us his guidance,” Maduro said, speaking on television alongside other aides at the hospital. Maduro said Chavez was smiling and in an energetic mood, “with an immense strength of will.”

He said they talked with Chavez in three sessions lasting about five hours. “We came out filled with his strength,” Maduro said.