Hugo Chavez's get-well messages
Hugo Chavez, who is undergoing cancer treatment in a Cuban hospital, has gotten a number of get-well messages from world leaders and officials, ever since announcing details of his cancer and two surgeries.
According to a statement from the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela/Ministry of People's Power for Foreign Affairs:
"Several presidents and senior officials from various countries have expressed their hope for the recovery of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who announced (last Thursday) his satisfactory progress after having undergone a second surgical procedure to remove a cancerous tumor."
Quoting from messages sent by eight world leaders, the Embassy put a get-well message from Bolivia's leftist President Evo Morales at the top of its list.
According to the Embassy, Morales wrote:
"Soon he (Obama) will be with his Venezuelan people, but also with Latin America, as always, working for integration, solidarity and liberation of all people."
"Be strong, president. [Your health] is a major concern of the Bolivian people and I'm sure that is also for the Latin American people. I hope to see you soon (...) to continue to share experiences. Our conversations are always a special lesson for me."
At the bottom of the list of eight well-wishers was one from the United States (though apparently not directly from President Obama). As Venezuela's Embassy related:
"The United States also desired Chavez a 'fast recovery.' The U.S. government 'has seen the reports about the health of President Chavez,' and although 'it is a personal matter, we desire him a fast recovery,' said William Ostick, State Department spokesman for Latin America."
Among other highlights from the Embassy's press release:
*Former Colombian Senator Piedad Cordoba, a "peace activist," noted that "Chavez is indefatigable and tireless. President, please rest; we need you cured. I am happy to see that you are in very good hands, being taking care of by Cuban doctors. (Last year, incidentally, Cordoba was banned from public office for 18 years for "collaborating" with Columbia's FARC Marxist narco-guerrillas."
*Ecuador's Deputy Foreign Minister, Kintto Lucas, said that "President Rafael Correa spoke with Chavez to wish him a speedy recovery from the surgery he had in Cuba," and the president said: "He is fine. It's not what some people are trying to claim, rumors to try to create destabilization in Venezuela." (According to the Wall Street Journal, incidentally, Ecuador President "Rafael Correa may have received as much as $400,000 from Colombian guerrillas and their drug trafficking allies for his 2006 presidential campaign, a U.K. think tank concluded.")
*European Union representative Willy Meyer, a Spanish left-wing politician, "said that the message sent last (Thursday) night by President Chavez is a message of confidence to all people from the left in Europe, who expect Chavez's speedy recovery." (Meyer, incidentally, is also a member of the bureau of the European United Left-Nordic Green Left.)