Venezuela’s vice president flew to Cuba to visit the ailing Hugo Chavez and his family, while the leaders of Argentina and Peru also travelled to Havana saying they hoped to ask about the Venezuelan president’s condition.

Nothing shows the extent of Hugo Chavez’s grip on power quite as clearly as his absence from his own inauguration.

Venezuela's Supreme Court chief endorsed putting off President Hugo Chavez's inauguration, siding with the government in a heated dispute with the opposition while the ailing leader struggles with complications a month after cancer surgery in Cuba.

Venezuelan politicians voted to postpone the inauguration of ailing President Hugo Chavez for his new term, prompting complaints from opponents who called it a violation of the constitution.

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez is in a “stable situation” in a Cuban hospital receiving treatment due to a severe respiratory infection, his government said.

Vice President Nicolas Maduro surprised Venezuelans with a Christmas Eve announcement that President Hugo Chavez is up and walking two weeks after cancer surgery in Cuba, but the news did little to ease uncertainty surrounding the leader’s condition.

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez is recovering satisfactorily after cancer surgery in Cuba and has spoken with relatives, his government has said.