Ailing Chavez fighting severe lung infection in wake of cancer surgery

Information minister Ernesto Villegas provided the update, which raised the possibility that Mr Chavez might be breathing with the assistance of a machine.

The government expressed confidence in the medical team in Cuba treating Mr Chavez, who is battling cancer and has undergone four operations.

Mr Chavez, 58, has not been seen or heard from since undergoing cancer surgery on December 11, and speculation has grown that his illness could be reaching its final stages. His elder brother Adan and National Assembly president Diosdado Cabello joined a parade of visitors who saw Mr Chavez in Havana this week.

Mr Chavez’s health crisis has raised contentious questions ahead of his swearing-in for a new presidential term set for next Thursday, including whether it could legally be postponed, Supreme Court justices might travel to Havana to administer the oath of office, and, most of all, what will happen if Mr Chavez cannot begin his new term.

The government condemned what it called a “campaign of psychological warfare” in the international media regarding the president’s condition.