Venezuela accuses enemies of poisoning ailing Chavez - 12 News KBMT and K-JAC. News, Weather and Sports for SE Texas

By Mariano Castillo

Venezuela accused the domestic and foreign enemies of Venezuela of poisoning ailing President Hugo Chavez and expelled a U.S. Embassy attache who it said was seeking military support for a plot against the government, Vice President Nicolas Maduro said Tuesday.

David Del Monaco, an Air Force attache for the U.S. Embassy, had been expelled Tuesday "for being implicated in conspiratorial plan, the information ministry said.

Some day, he told the press in a lengthy statement, there will be "scientific proof" that Chavez, fighting a battle with cancer, was poisoned. He also called Venezuela's political right-wing an "oligarchy" and an "enemy of the nation." Maduro urged supporters to close ranks and exercise "unity and discipline."

Maduro made the remark to reporters after he met with the country's top officials Tuesday about Chavez's worsening health condition. "These are "most difficult moments we have experienced" since his surgery on December 11, he said.

Chavez first announced he had cancer in 2011. He spent more than two months in treatment in Cuba recently, returning to Venezuela two weeks ago. Maduro said Chavez's health is in a "complicated situation" and the government has been transparent about his respiratory problems.

Since Chavez underwent surgery on December 11, government accounts about his health have been vague. The last glimpse Venezuelans had of their leader was last month when the government released a series of photographs that showed a smiling Chavez -- his face bloated -- lying on a blue pillow, flanked by his two daughters.

On Monday, Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said Chavez was battling a new infection and that his breathing problems had worsened.

"There is a worsening of the respiratory function, related to the state of his depressed immune system," Villegas said, reading an official statement on state-run VTV.

He reported Chavez is battling a new and "severe" infection, stressing that his overall condition remains "very delicate." Chavez is undergoing chemotherapy and other treatments, he said.

"The president continues to hold fast to Christ and to life, aware of the difficulties he's facing," Villegas said.

Maduro said Friday that Chavez is "fighting for his life." The president began chemotherapy after his fourth cancer surgery in Cuba in December, and he is continuing the "intense" treatment at a military hospital in Caracas, according to Maduro.

It was Chavez's decision to return to his country from Cuba to resume the post-operative treatment, Maduro said Tuesday.

The president's allies maintain he is continuing to run the country, while critics say Venezuela is in limbo without a leader, and are demanding more details on his health.