Venezuelans must prepare for “complex and difficult days” ahead, according the country’s Vice President, Nicholas Maduro. It is a message that nations across the Caribbean and Central America that have come to rely on PetroCaribe, President Chávez’s concessionary oil arrangement, would also do well to heed.
As is now well known, Mr Chávez returned to Cuba on December 7 and underwent surgery during which complications arose. Although reports suggest that he is recovering progressively it is far from clear when he might return to Caracas. Initially Ernesto Villegas, the Venezuelan Minister of Information, had said that it was hoped that the President would return home in time for his January 10 inauguration. However, a subsequent less certain statement suggested that the President may require a longer period of time to recover than first thought. It would, the statement said, “be irresponsible to hide the delicacy
