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Vice-President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday did not give details of the alternative treatments the president was receiving.

“Today our commander is undergoing alternative treatments. They are complex and difficult treatments that must, at some point, end the cycle of his illness,” Maduro said in comments on state TV.

Chavez has never said what type of cancer he is suffering from, and critics accuse the government of excessive secrecy over his condition.

The 58-year-old socialist leader has not been seen in public since he went to Havana for the operation on 11 December, his fourth surgery for cancer in 18 months.

The government, which rejects allegations it has not been transparent about Chavez’s health, says he has completed a difficult post-operative period and has started a “new phase” of his recuperation. It has not given details of this new phase.

Any new vote in South America’s top oil exporter would probably pit Maduro, Chavez’s heir apparent, against Henrique Capriles, the 40-year-old governor of Miranda state, who lost to Chavez in last October’s presidential election. — AP