Chavez recovering from chemo in Cuba: Morales

HAVANA: Bolivian President Evo Morales said Monday his Venezuelan counterpart was "much improved" after the latest round of chemotherapy in Cuba to treat President Hugo Chavez's cancer.

Morales, who made the comment during a lecture at the University of Havana, where he was receiving an honorary doctorate, arrived with Chavez from Caracas late Saturday.

Chavez, who had a tumor removed June 20 in Havana, had earlier expressed confidence the latest round would be his last before a "full recovery."

Little information has been released about the type of cancer afflicting 57-year-old Chavez, or details about his medical condition.

He underwent his first two rounds of chemotherapy in Havana, where doctors discovered the cancer after operating on him for an abdominal abscess.

On September 2, he concluded a third round at a Venezuelan military hospital.

Chavez, who has been in power since 1999, has vowed to be back to full health in time to serve as host of a summit of Latin American and Caribbean leaders December 2-3 in Caracas.

During his lecture Monday, Morales denounced the "new politics of capitalism and imperialism" and lambasted the international community for their intervention in Libya.

As world leaders gathered at the United Nations this week, he slammed the NATO backing of opposition rebels that ousted Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi as an "embarrassment for humanity," and said the better name for the UN Security Council would be the "insecurity council."

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011