Chavez Seen in Post-Op Photos

Hugo Chavez is definitely alive. Venezuelan officials today released the first images the world has seen of Chavez since his December surgery in Havana, the BBC reports. The photos show Chavez prone but smiling alongside his daughters. In some photos he is reading yesterday's issue of the Cuban Communist Party's official newspaper Granma, perhaps in an only-kind-of-subtle attempt to prove that the images were indeed taken recently.

Chavez's condition has been a topic of rampant speculation in Venezuela, despite rosy reports like this one. The country's information minister says it is currently difficult for Chavez to speak, because he is breathing through a tracheal tube. (More Hugo Chavez stories.)