I must return to Cuba for further treatment: Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says his cancer has returned and he needs to return to Cuba immediately for further treatment.

Chavez said he would go back to Cuba on Sunday to undergo surgery due to the discovery of new cancer cells during his Cuba trip last week.

The announcement of departure for Havana comes on the heels of his Friday return from Cuba following ten days of treatment in the country.

“I need to, I must return to Havana tomorrow in order to confront this new battle,” Chavez said at the Miraflores presidential palace.

“Unfortunately, during these exhaustive exams they found some malignant cells in the same area. It is absolutely necessary, absolutely essential, that I have to undergo a new surgical intervention.”

The Venezuelan president called on his supporters to vote for Vice President Nicolas Maduro in the event his health failed or anything happened to him.

Chavez flew back to Cuba on the night of November 27 to undergo several sessions of hyperbaric oxygenation, which is typically employed to lessen the decay of bones because of radiation therapy.

The 58-year-old has been fighting with cancer in the pelvic area. He began the treatment in Cuba following a tumor removal in March 2011.

The final round of Chavez’s radiation treatment in Cuba was in April and he declared himself free of cancer in May.