CARACAS (AFP) ? President Hugo Chavez waved a large Venezuelan flag as he addressed a euphoric crowd of supporters gathered to give him a hero's welcome Monday after he underwent cancer surgery in Cuba.
"Long live Venezuela... Long live the Venezuelan people! Long live the union of Latin America, long live Fidel (Castro), long live Cuba, long live life!" cried Chavez, dressed in his military uniform topped by his red paratrooper's beret.
"And long live Chavez!"
The crowd, which gathered outside the presidential palace, sang the Venezuelan anthem throughout his address and expressed joy and relief that their ailing president had come home.
The firebrand anti-American leader, who has served three terms since 1999, announced before his operation in June that he would run again for office in the 2012 presidential election.
Chavez was operated for a cancer growth in his pelvic area during an official visit to Cuba.
The unexpected and nearly month-long absence of a man who is usually omnipresent in Venezuela sparked criticism and questions over his political future.
Supporters waved Cuban flags, photos of Chavez and signs below the balcony of the Miraflores Palace, where the president spoke after his early morning return from Cuba.
"We love you, we love you, toward victory forever!" read some of the signs, reprising a rallying cry made famous by leftist icon Che Guevara.
But the president cautioned those gathered to support him that his "battle" against cancer was not yet won, and urged patience and strength.
"I am sure you completely understand the challenges of this battle. Don't let anyone believe that my presence here on this fourth of July means we have won the battle," he told his supporters.
"No. We have started to head up the hill, to beat the disease that entered my body -- for whatever reasons -- but we will need to keep following a strict medical program little by little and I know you will understand."
The president asked the crowd to join him toward a "final victory."
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