The president of the National Assembly of Venezuela, Diosdado Cabello, confirmed that the re-elected president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, will not be present at his presidential inauguration, where he would have been sworn in and initiate his new term in office.

This news was given by Venezuela's Vice President, Nicolas Maduro, who through a press release informed the citizens of this country that due to the medical treatment that Chavez is receiving in Cuba, he was ordered to remain there and due to this, Chavez will be sworn in at a later date.

Chavez has been in Cuba since December 11, 2012, where he underwent a fourth surgery for cancer treatment, but he has not been back since because according Venezuelan officials, he developed respiratory complications.

The Spanish newspaper ABC has published articles stating otherwise, where they mention that Chavez was actually induced into a coma by doctors and is currently in critical health conditions. Chavez is being kept alive through life support, and speculations about his family members disconnecting him are very high.

The Venezuelan government has characterized this type of news as "disrespectful" and states that this "media war" will just affect its people in the end.

Members of the opposition parties in the Venezuelan government are demanding for the truth to be told. They feel that the information about the reasons why the president cannot take office is being hidden from the citizens of the country.

Brenda.Colon@sandiegored.com

Omar.Martinez@sandiegored.com