Chavez undergoing surgery: Rafael Correa
Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa said Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was undergoing surgery.
TULCAN: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was in surgery Tuesday in Havana to treat a return of his cancer, Ecuador s President Rafael Correa said, after visiting his close ally in Cuba.
Chavez is being subjected "at this instant to a very delicate operation," Correa said in opening a meeting with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos in the border city of Tulcan, 150 kilometers (90 miles) north of Quito.
"He is going through one of the most difficult moments of his life, this dear friend, colleague and Latin American leader, commandante Chavez," Correa said.
"Truly, he is a historic president and let s hope he comes through this health problem totally reestablished," the Ecuadoran president said.
Chavez flew to Havana for his fourth round of surgery Sunday after revealing to his stunned countrymen that his cancer had returned just two months after his re-election to a six-year term.
Chavez, who was first diagnosed with cancer in June 2011, had assured Venezuelans that he was cancer free after three surgeries and debilitating rounds of chemo and radiation therapy.
But he made clear before his departure to Havana he was facing a serious setback, publicly naming Vice President Nicolas Maduro as his preferred successor for the first time.
Correa, a leftist firebrand like Chavez who could succeed him as leader of the Latin American left, on Monday flew to the Venezuelan s side in Havana where he found him in "great spirits."
"He gives us all strength," Correa said on his Twitter account after flying back to Quito.
Correa said he also visited Cuban President Raul Castro and Fidel Castro during his day-long stay in Havana.
With Cuba s backing, Chavez has taken the lead in forming a bloc of leftist Latin American governments that vehemently opposes the United States and has friendly relations with US adversaries like Iran.
Members of the group include Ecuador, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Venezuela and Cuba.
