Hugo Chavez pops up on TV with Fidel Castro

Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez has long been considered Fidel Castro’s second act, his MiniMe and his ideological heir. Now, he’s even imitating the way Castro dribbles out information about his health. With speculation running rampant that Chavez, who is in Cuba for medical treatment, may have prostate cancer or may even have died, he has decided to release short clips of himself on Cuban TV, alongside Castro. Both Communist relics are sporting track suits and are seen to be chatting, though there is no sound and at least so far, no way to date the footage. The footage appears to have been shot in the hospital where Chavez is believed to be staying. He and Castro appear to be healthy, though Castro is visibly frail.

Since going to Cuba to escape his own country’s health care system, Chavez has given one radio interview and posted a few items on his twitter account. Of course, the twitter postings could have been done by someone else. The video footage could be from when Chavez first arrived in Cuba, and not recent. We have two of the Western Hemisphere’s most closed and paranoid governments working in concert, so anything is possible, and the “new” footage just makes the whole situation regarding Chavez’s health a bit more suspect.