Dec 12 (Reuters) - Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez is in delicate condition after his latest cancer surgery, the government said on Wednesday in a somber assessment that could presage an end to his 14-year rule.
Following is a chronology of the 58-year-old socialist leader's fight for his health:
JUNE 30, 2011
* A pale-looking Chavez addresses the nation by television from Cuba, where he says doctors operated on him to remove a cancerous tumor from his pelvis.
JULY 4, 2011
* The president makes a surprise return to Venezuela ahead of the country's Independence Day celebrations.
JULY 17, 2011
* Chavez returns to Cuba to begin a course of chemotherapy.
SEPT. 22, 2011
* Finishes his fourth and final course of chemotherapy.
OCT. 20, 2011
* Following tests in Havana, Chavez declares himself free from his cancer, and his doctors say he is completely cured.
DEC. 2, 2011
* Hosts a regional summit, minus representatives from the United States, in Caracas.
DEC. 20, 2011
* Attends a Mercosur summit in Uruguay, Chavez's first political trip overseas since his illness was diagnosed.
FEB. 21, 2012
* Chavez says he will undergo another operation after a lesion was found in the same area where he had the tumor.
FEB. 28, 2012
* The president undergoes surgery in Cuba.
MARCH 4, 2012
* Chavez says he will undergo radiation treatment in Cuba.
MARCH 16, 2012
* President returns to Venezuela after his latest operation.
MARCH 25, 2012
* Chavez returns to Havana to begin his first cycle of radiation therapy.
APRIL 5, 2012
* The president cries during Roman Catholic Mass, calls on God "not to take him yet" because he has more to do for Venezuela.
APRIL 14, 2012
* Chavez returns to Cuba for more radiation treatment, missing the Summit of the Americas in Colombia.
OCT. 7, 2012
* Chavez easily wins re-election at presidential poll.
NOV. 27, 2012
* The president says he will return to Cuba for treatment including hyperbaric oxygenation, which can be used to treat the side effects of radiation therapy.
DEC. 7, 2012
* Flies home to Venezuela in the pre-dawn hours, joking, "Where's the party?"
DEC. 8, 2012
* Chavez says doctors in Cuba found a recurrence of malignant cells in his pelvic area and that he must undergo another operation within days.
DEC. 11, 2012
* Chavez undergoes operation of more than six hours, which the government says was completed "correctly and successfully."
DEC. 12, 2012
* Vice President Nicolas Maduro says the surgery was "complex, difficult and delicate," and that the post-operation process will also be "complex and tough."
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