Whatever you might think about Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez, he sure isn’t about to go down to cancer with out a fight.  Vice President Nicolas Maduro says the top guy is undergoing “complex and difficult” alternative treatments.

Chavez is apparently still in Havana, Cuba under going these unspecified treatments. The 58-year-old has not been seen in public since he went to Havana for the operation on December 11, his fourth surgery for cancer in 18 months.

The Venezuelan government denies allegations that it has not been forthcoming with information about the President’s illness.  But it also hasn't identified the type of cancer Chavez is fighting.

Critics have wondered if “Chavismo” can survive without Chavez himself.  But even if a new election is coming up for whatever reason, the opposition appears to be unorganized and unready for another campaig.