Story highlights
Hugo Chavez will return to Cuba for "medical treatments"
It is not clear what those treatments entail
The president says he is cancer-free, but some doubt that
His health has been a closely guarded secret
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez arrived in Havana early Wednesday for a new round of medical treatment, Cuban state media reported.
Venezuela’s national assembly on Tuesday voted to grant Chavez permission to travel to Cuba for the treatment, the state-run AVN news agency reported.
In October, Chavez was re-elected to a new term after having received treatment for cancer in preceding months.
Between June 2011 and May 2012, he underwent cancer treatment in Cuba, raising speculation about his political future and about a possible successor, especially when he named 10 people to his inner circle of advisers, known as the Council of State.
But Chavez declared himself cancer-free in July and went ahead with his campaign.
Details of his health, however, have been a closely held secret, and some people who claim to have insider knowledge say the president is in much worse condition than he publicly lets on.