By JORGE RUEDA
By JORGE RUEDA
Associated Press
CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said he was flying to Cuba to begin radiation therapy Sunday, one month after undergoing surgery that removed a cancerous tumor.
That will put him in Cuba at the same time as Pope Benedict XVI, who arrives on the communist-governed island on Monday after a visit to Mexico.
Chavez has been recovering from a Feb. 26 surgery in Havana that removed a tumor from the same spot in his pelvic region where another tumor was extracted eight months earlier.
“Tonight, I’m leaving for Havana,” he said in a televised meeting with aides Saturday. “I’ve decided, on the recommendation of my medical team and also my government political team, to begin now, as we’re going to begin on Sunday, radiation therapy treatment.”
Chavez described it as a “complement to the surgery that I underwent” last month.
“Yesterday, they took out the last stitches that were left from the operation. Everything’s very good. I’ve been walking much better. … Without any sort of complication, thanks to God,” he said. “And now, a month after the operation, we’re ready for radiation therapy, which will last about four, five weeks.”
Chavez arrived at Caracas’ international airport Saturday night and held the hand of one of his daughters as he walked past soldiers at attention. He said he planned to return to Venezuela in a “few days,” but didn’t say how long he would be in Havana.
Chavez also didn’t refer to the pope’s upcoming visit to Cuba.
Chavez has not identified the type of cancer nor the location in his pelvic region where the tumors have been removed.