Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has overcome a respiratory infection he contracted after undergoing cancer surgery in Cuba last month, Information Minister Ernesto Villegas told reporters Saturday.
But the president still has some breathing problems and his treatment continues, Villegas said.
"The general evolution of the patient is favorable," said Villegas, who spoke in Santiago, Chile, where he is attending a meeting of European and Latin American leaders.
"The severe respiratory infection has been overcome, although there remains a certain degree of respiratory inefficiency, which is being treated," he said.
Chavez, 58, has not made a public appearance since undergoing a fourth cancer surgery in Havana six weeks ago.
The government has not released any photographs of the ailing leader, and Chavez hasn't spoken on state television.
The long absence from the airwaves is not typical of the loquacious leader. And his lengthy stay in Cuba has sparked growing concerns from political opponents about who is running Venezuela while he's gone.