Supporters of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez celebrate his return, outside the Carlos Arvelo Military Hospital in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, Feb. 18, 2013. Chavez returned to Venezuela early Monday after more than two months of medical treatment in Cuba following cancer surgery. Vice President Nicolas Maduro said on television that Chavez arrived at 2:30 a.m. and was taken to the military hospital in Caracas, where he will continue his treatment. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Supporters of Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez celebrate his return, outside the Carlos Arvelo Military Hospital in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, Feb. 18, 2013. Chavez returned to Venezuela early Monday after more than two months of medical treatment in Cuba following cancer surgery. Vice President Nicolas Maduro said on television that Chavez arrived at 2:30 a.m. and was taken to the military hospital in Caracas, where he will continue his treatment. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Hugo Chavez is fighting for his life, Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro told local television on Thursday,the BBC reported.

Maduro, Chavez’s appointed successor, said his boss was “battling there for his health, for his life, and we’re accompanying him,” the Associated Press reported.

Chavez, 58, has not been seen in public since undergoing his fourth cancer operation in Cuba on Dec. 11.

He returned to Venezuela mid-February and is reportedly suffering from a severe respiratory infection, the BBC said.

Reuters reported Tuesday that most Venezuelans believe their leader will recover from his ilness and return to active rule.

Local pollster Hinterlaces said 60 percent of interviewees believe Chavez will be cured and back to governing.

Only 12 percent believe his condition is incurable.

 

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This article originally was published by Global Post.

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