Hugo Chavez makes first TV appearance after surgery

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Hugo Chavez appeared on Cuban state television on Tuesday, alongside revolutionary icon Fidel Castro, for the first time since the Venezuelan president underwent emergency surgery here.

The 56-year-old appeared to have lost weight, but was animated in speech as usual, alongside Castro, 84, the footage showed. The video also aired in Venezuela to dispel rumors about Chavez's medical condition.

The footage showed Chavez and Castro speaking in a garden as well as seated in a room; in one, the close friends and political allies are shown reading Tuesday's edition of the Communist Pary newspaper Granma, presumably to dispel repeated allegations that Chavez could be ailing or dead.

The Venezuelan government has not addressed details of Chavez's condition. And opposition lawmakers are up in arms in Caracas as many think it is unconstitutional for the president to be governing from abroad.

The Venezuelan government has, however, rejected reports that Chavez was in critical condition following surgery in Cuba, and insisted that the firebrand leftist leader was recovering well.

"He is recovering," Information Minister Andres Izarra told AFP Sunday after reports from Miami's El Nuevo Herald which cited unnamed US intelligence sources as saying Chavez was in "critical condition - not on the brink of death, but critical indeed."

The newspaper also said the sources refused to comment on rumors in Venezuela that Chavez could be receiving treatment for prostate cancer.

Izarra earlier urged his Twitter followers to not repeat rumors, saying Chavez "is recovering well from his operation."

Chavez's enemies "should stop dreaming, and his friends should stop being nervous," tweeted Temir Porras, a senior diplomat.

Chavez himself fired off a brief Twitter message saying that his youngest daughter and three grandchildren had arrived in Cuba to visit him.

The uncharacteristic silence from someone known for his verbal omnipresence left some foes speculating that Chavez might have had plastic surgery, or might want to drum up sympathy for his illness ahead of a 2012 election in which he will seek a third term.

Venezuela's president arrived in Cuba on June 8 on the final leg of a trip authorized by the National Assembly that also included Brazil and Ecuador. He was rushed into emergency surgery after suffering sharp pain diagnosed as a pelvic abscess that required immediate surgery June 10.