Hugo Chavez conscious and aware of 'complex' condition At times there have been slight improvements, at times there have been stationary situations. Mr Maduro's appeals for public confidence in the government's information came amid a cascade of rumors on social networks like Twitter, including some that claimed Mr Chavez was on life support or was dead. What is behind the ill-intentioned rumors? It is the evil and hatred of the enemies of Venezuela," he said. They are people who anybody could describe as mentally ill, sick with hatred, sick with evil. Official information about Mr Chavez's medical condition has been sketchy since Cuban doctors first detected a cancer in his pelvic region in June 2011. He has undergone four rounds of surgery, and multiple courses of chemotherapy and radiation treatment. But the type of cancer he suffers from has not been disclosed, nor has the prognosis. Meanwhile, political uncertainties have mounted even as Mr Chavez won re-election in October to another six-year term in office. He is supposed to be sworn in on January 10. The constitution demands that new elections be called within 30 days if Chavez, who has dominated Venezuelan political life since taking power in 1999, dies or is declared incapacitated before his inauguration.