Chavez returns home after radiotherapy in Cuba

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. AFP PHOTO/LEO RAMIREZ

CARACAS — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez returned home from Havana late Friday, after a week in which he received what was supposed to be his last session of radiation and chemotherapy for cancer.

“I have to tell you that in recent days we have successfully concluded this course of chemotherapy,” the Venezuelan leader told local television upon his arrival at Maiquetia Airport.

Interior Minister Tareck El Aissami had fueled the speculation after saying Tuesday that Chavez would return in “the coming hours,” which then did not happen.

Chavez, 57, has undergone surgery twice in the past year to remove cancerous tumors, and has had chemotherapy followed by radiation treatments to try to rid himself of the cancer.

He has not disclosed the type of cancer he has or the prognosis, which, with presidential elections looming in October, has fueled political uncertainty at home.