WSJ/ New Details
Usually verbose and omnipresent President Hugo Chavez, 56, finally broke his silence...on Twitter.
It was his first contact since a 10 June operation in La Habana.
But Chavez said nothing about his health.
"Today is my army's day and the sun rose brilliantly! A huge hug to my soldiers and to my beloved people," he tweeted.
His brother Aden announced that Hugo would stay in Cuba... for 12 more days.
His 2-week absence from interviews, broadcast tirades and his many Twitter postings had fed much speculation in bars and cafes.
Especially after a deadly siege that has been underway for 11 days at the El Rodeo 1 prison outside of Caracas.
"It's all very dark, opaque and mysterious," said a professor.
"It's very unclear. As a Venezuelan, I would have bet my two kidneys that Chavez would have at least said something about what happened in El Rodeo prison."
A pollster speculates:"They are trying to pass off the problem as minor, that it hit him by chance while he was in Havana and that he can rule from Cuba for a while... This could be a way to set up a triumphal return. But Chavez has to reappear soon, because otherwise it could prove dangerous to his image."
But his unusual absence has now raised serious questions about a successor.
"Nothing will ever be the same," said political analyst Juan Carlos Zapata. "This is the first signal that Chávez has an end and that there is nobody to take over. He might come back, but nothing will be the same."
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