In this week’s roundup… Rumors surround Hugo Chávez’s health as conflicting reports emerge following his operation in Cuba; Chávez’s absence triggers discontent among the country’s military ranks; MUD candidate Capriles’ youthfulness could play to his advantage in the October presidential elections if Chávez’s condition worsens. Price controls continue to increase the country’s soaring inflation, hurting food production and industrial output; Venezuela continues to send aid to embattled Syrian president Bashar Assad despite international sanctions; public and private investments fall to 10.3 percent, below 2008 numbers; and anarchy reigns in the Venezuela penitentiary system due to a lack of government oversight.

Chávez Surgery Revives Speculation, The Wall Street Journal

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, who is running for re-election, was in good condition after undergoing surgery overnight in Cuba to remove a pelvic lesion near where surgeons had removed a cancerous tumor last year, Vice President Elias Jaua said on Tuesday.

Hugo Chávez’s illness triggers new reports of discontent, fear in the military, Boston Herald

President Hugo Chávez’s illness has deepened the internal fissures of the Venezuelan Armed Forces, an institution that never integrated into one unique block of support of the Bolivarian Revolution and whose members have for months shown signs of concern and discontent, according to internal reports by the private intelligence company Stratfor leaked by WikiLeaks.

Chávez Surgery Opens Venezuela Election Chances For Candidate Henrique Capriles, The Huffington Post via the Associated Press

Throughout his presidency, Hugo Chávez has relied on his vigor and endurance: playing baseball, speaking for hours at a stretch and making decisions on the fly while bounding around Venezuela exuding energy.

Chávez’s Cancer Mystery: What if Venezuela’s President Doesn’t Run for Re-Election?, TIME
Lent, the pre-Easter season that started last week, is traditionally a time when Christians ponder their mortality – and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez had a lot of it to contemplate before he left Caracas for Havana to undergo more cancer surgery.

Chávez’s health makes an impact on Venezuelan foreign policy, El Universal

Since last September, Colombian Ambassador to Venezuela Alfredo Curé has been waiting for a meeting with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez to produce his credentials accounting for the official notice of the beginning of his mission in the country.

Chávez, his friends and life after death, The Financial Times

One of the more interesting lines of speculation about Hugo Chávez’s deteriorating health and possible death is what it might mean for the socialist Venezuelan president’s many foreign allies.

Venezuela’s New Price Controls Order Cuts Of Up To 25 percent, Fox Business

The Venezuelan government will cut prices on a slate of basic goods up to an average of 25 percent as part of a long-awaited first wave of broadly expanded price controls that officials say will combat the country’s soaring inflation, Vice President Elias Jaua announced Monday.

Agricultural balance still in the red, El Universal

World food prices will continue playing a key role in goods availability in the Venezuelan market in 2012. While the value of some commodities, including sugar, cereal and oil, dropped at the end of 2011, international organizations fear that prices this year will continue above the average.

Venezuela’s aluminum and steel production below 1997 numbers, El Universal

Official statistics reveal that the output of the subsidiaries of the Venezuelan Guayana Corporation (CVG) and private manufacturing, of the essence to diversify exports and supply raw materials to the rest of the economy, is seriously shrinking.

Venezuela sends fuel to Syria, no plans to halt shipments aimed at aiding Assad regime, The Washington Post via the Associated Press

Venezuela has been sending diesel fuel to Syria and the government of President Hugo Chávez has no plans to halt the shipments, the country’s energy minister said Tuesday.

Public and private investment 10.3 percent below 2008 level, El Universal

Thanks to raising oil prices, the Venezuelan government is able to inject a significant dose of public spending and the economy takes again the road of growth.

Venezuela’s Gladiators, The New York Times

Two men with knives face off in a pit. Hundreds gathered around are egging them on, while on the walkway above others are picking their winner and placing bets.