Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos on Tuesday wished Venezuela’s President, Hugo Chavez, a speedy recovery.
“I want to send a special greeting to President Chavez. We hope for your speedy recovery so that we can continue to work together,” Santos said at the close of the first day of binational talks between Colombia and Ecuador.
The Socialist President’s battle with cancer has been well documented, and on Tuesday he underwent his “fourth operation in 18 months.”
Chavez recently announced that he would temporarily hand power over to his vice-president, Nicolas Maduro.
The controversial Chavez has been in power since 1998 and in October was elected for a fourth consecutive term. According to The Guardian, the Venezuelan constitution stipulates that if the president is declared unable to govern within the last two years of his term, the vice-president will take over until new elections are held.