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A doctor
who said Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez had only two years to live has fled
the country saying he fears for his life.
 |
| Venezuela's President says he is free of cancer |
Medical
officials said police had visited Dr Salvador Navarrete's office after his
comments were published last week.
The doctor
said that President Chavez had a very aggressive form of cancer.
On
Thursday, Mr Chavez returned from a medical check-up in Cuba saying he was
cured.
Dr
Navarrete treated Mr Chavez around 10 years ago and has stayed in touch with
members of the president's family and medical team.
In an
interview with a Mexican magazine, Milenio, published last Monday, Dr Navarrete
said he had information from the family that the president was suffering from a
serious form of cancer - a sarcoma - in his pelvis.
"I'm
worried that the president and those around him do not know the full magnitude
of his illness given it has been handled with complete secrecy," he said.
'Top marks'
The BBC's
Sarah Grainger in Caracas says that that is in sharp contrast to the picture
the president has painted of his illness.
Arriving
back in Caracas on Thursday following a check-up with doctors in Cuba, Hugo
Chavez said he had beaten cancer and that his body was free of malignant cells.
In an open
letter published by Venezuelan newspapers on Friday, Dr Navarrete claimed that
police had searched files and computers at his office and he had been forced to
flee the country with his family to an undisclosed location.
There has
been an enormous amount of speculation in Venezuela about Mr Chavez's illness
since he announced in June that he was being treated for cancer.
He has
released few details about his illness, fuelling speculation that it may be
worse than officially stated.
But the
57-year-old president insists he is well enough to run in the 2012 elections
and serve another six-year term.
Mr Chavez
travelled to Cuba four months ago for surgery, and says he has had four cycles
of chemotherapy.
"Everything
went perfectly. I got top marks, 20 out of 20," he told reporters on
returning to Venezuela on Thursday.
Mr Chavez
has been in power since 1999, and has transformed Venezuela with sweeping
nationalisations.
Last month,
he denied US media reports that he had been rushed to hospital with kidney
failure linked to his cancer treatment.
Doctors
warn that patients must generally wait at least two years after treatment
before they can be considered out of danger.
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