Chavez suffered complications in Cuba surgery

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez suffered bleeding during his cancer surgery in Cuba that required "corrective measures" to stanch the flow, his government said Thursday.

But in the latest of a series of unusually frank reports about the president's delicate condition, Information Minister Ernesto Villegas also said that Chavez has been making a "progressive and favorable" recovery after the complications from Tuesday's surgery.

"This recovery process, nevertheless, will require a prudent period of time as a consequence of the complexity of the surgery performed," Villegas added.

The government has begun providing regular updates on the president's recovery after the six-hour surgery in what appears to be a slight easing of the secrecy that has surrounded Chavez's medical treatment since he fell ill last year.

A somber-faced Vice President Nicolas Maduro warned this week Chavez faced a "complex and hard" recovery period. Villegas has acknowledged that the president may not be well enough in time for his Jan. 10 inauguration for a new six-year term.

But it still remains unclear where the bleeding occurred or how severe the complications were. Still secret are numerous details about the cancer in the president's pelvic area, including the type and location of the tumors that have been removed. More on CBC >>