CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuela's information minister is acknowledging that ailing President Hugo Chavez may not be well enough after cancer surgery in Cuba to return in time for his Jan. 10 inauguration.
Minister Ernesto Villegas says in a Twitter post that if Chavez isn't back in time for his swearing-in for a new six-year term "our people should be prepared to understand it."
The posting says Venezuelans should see any delay the same way as "when we have a sick father, in a delicate situation after four surgeries in a year and a half."
Vice President Nicolas Maduro looked grim earlier in the day when he warned Venezuelans that Chavez faces a "complex and hard" process after his fourth cancer-related operation in Cuba.
