Venezuelan VP strikes optimistic tone on Chavez

Maduro, speaking while touring a pediatric hospital, said Chavez is "consolidating a recovery process, which fills us with joy." A day earlier, Maduro said he had received an update from a ruling party member who visited Chavez in Cuba and that the Venezuelan leader's "condition is becoming increasingly stable."

"Prayers are always in our mind in this battle for life that is consolidating itself day by day," Maduro said.

Chavez underwent surgery Dec. 11, about two months after being elected to another six-year presidential term. It was his fourth cancer-related operation since June 2011.

Bolivian President Evo Morales traveled to Cuba on Sunday morning but there was no word on whether he visited his close ally Chavez.

Cuba's government-run newspaper Juventud Rebelde said Morales visited Havana "to express his support for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias." The Bolivian leader was greeted by Cuban President Raul Castro and the newspaper published a photograph on its website showing the two leaders smiling.

Despite his optimistic tone, Maduro offered no hint about when Chavez might return to Venezuela. Government leaders have warned Venezuelans that Chavez might not be back in time for his Jan. 10 inauguration, raising the possibility of a legal dispute on who should then take over the presidency.

National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello said Saturday that ruling party lawmakers, who hold a majority in the legislature, won't call a new presidential election if Chavez can't return from Cuba in time for the swearing-in ceremony.