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CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez is said to be recovering in Cuba after an operation for an aggressive cancer that has defied multiple treatments.

Speaking after the surgery on Venezuelan television, Vice President Nicolas Maduro said Chavez's operation was "complex" but was completed "correctly and successfully." It's the fourth cancer-related operation that Chavez has undergone since June 2011.

Three days before the operation, Chavez announced that he needed to have surgery again after tests showed "some malignant cells" had reappeared in the same area of the pelvic region where tumors were previously removed.

The 58-year-old Chavez won re-election in October and is due to be sworn in for a new six-year term on Jan. 10.