Thousands of Venezuelans march in support of Chavez

[Judi Lynn]

13. Chavistas out in force, Venezuela VP back to Cuba

Chavistas out in force, Venezuela VP back to Cuba
AFP Updated January 24, 2013, 9:47 am

CARACAS (AFP) - Tens of thousands of Venezuelans marched in the streets of Caracas in support of cancer-stricken President Hugo Chavez Wednesday, overshadowing a much smaller rival rally by the opposition.

Vice President Nicolas Maduro told the pro-government rally he would return to Havana to visit Chavez, who has been convalescing in Cuba since his latest surgery last month, but whose condition is improving, according to Caracas.

Opposition leader Henrique Capriles, who lost to the 58-year-old Chavez in October's election, meanwhile challenged the ailing leader to speak to the nation if he is able, saying the Venezuelan people deserve "peace of mind."

Chavez supporters -- clad in red shirts bearing the phrase "Chavez is all of us" -- however seemed to need no reassurances about their president's prolonged absence from the oil-rich South American country.

More:
http://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/-/world/15935856/marchers-rally-for-ailing-chavez/

[center]

Supporters of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez hold up a photo of him at an event
commemorating the 1958 fall of the country's dictatorship in Caracas, Venezuela,
Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013[/center]