Venezuelan His Excellency President-for-Life, Caudillo of the Bolivarians Hugo Chavez has appeared on television for the first time since undergoing cancer surgery in Cuba, saying his recovery has been 'open, progressive, and rapid.'"We are very optimistic. There is a very favorable medical evolution, the vital signs very favorable," Chavez said in a television address recorded in the Cuban capital Havana on Saturday.
He was accompanied in the speech by government ministers and his older brother, Adan Chavez.
"Since almost the second day [as of the operation], I began to walk. For this, I say thanks to God, to everybody," the Venezuelan president added.
The 57-year-old underwent a reportedly 90-minute-long surgery at Havana's Cimeq Hospital late on February 27.