Havana, Cuba (CNN) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is recovering after facing complications during cancer surgery this week, officials said. "This process of recuperation ... will require a prudent time, as a result of the complexity of the surgical procedure, and also because of complications that came up in the surgery, when bleeding presented itself, requiring the adoption of corrective measures to permit its proper control," Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said in a televised address Thursday afternoon. Vice President Nicolas Maduro said doctors had acted quickly to control the unexpected bleeding. Speaking at a rally in northern Venezuela on Thursday evening, Maduro said Chavez's recuperation had "evolved from stable to favorable" but did not provide details about his long-term prognosis.
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Venezuela's vice president says President Hugo Chavez's recuperation is going favorably
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Chavez has asked officials "to prepare the people for any circumstance," he says
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Officials: Unexpected bleeding was a complication during Chavez's cancer surgery
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They have not specified what type of cancer the Venezuelan president is battling
Venezuelans "should be prepared to understand" if Chavez doesn't return to @placeholder before the inauguration on January 10, Villegas said.