Venezuelan supporters pray for Hugo Chávez amid health concerns [VIDEO] (The Christian Science Monitor)

Caracas, Venezuela – Just a block away from President Hugo Chavez’s presidential palace, worshippers at the Santa Capilla church are praying for his quick return to health.

Three weeks out of the spotlight for the leader have fueled rumors at home and abroad of health problems and concerns that the revolutionary may be on his way out as he languishes in a Cuban hospital bed.

“All the churches of this country are praying for Chavez," says Jimmy Olvas, sitting outside Santa Capilla with a boisterous group of domino players. “We pray for him to return quickly and to recover fast.”

RELATED: Where is Hugo Chavez?

While concerned, Chavez supporters in Caracas – known as Chavistas – remain confident in their government.

“Our ministers are doing a good job and our Comandante will be back,” says pensioner Pedro Torrulos as he stands under a large photo of Chavez in a socialist canteen, one of the president’s headline-grabbing initiatives to feed the poor of Venezuela who make up the bulk of his support.

How is Chavez doing?Images and video of Chavez alongside Cuba’s Fidel and Raul Castro have been released in order to quell speculation. However, many are now questioning the date on which the photos were produced.

Compounding Chavez’s long, silent absence are the contradictory statements of his government, which have only fueled speculation.

The statements of those in power signal that they are confused and themselves out of the loop. Deputy Foreign Minister Temir Porras announced on Twitter that his president was “recovering well” earlier this week while his own boss, Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro has described Chavez’s “great battle” for his health.

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ChA?vez's health issues apparently forced the government to cancel a long-planned Latin America summit scheduled for next week. The event was to be attended by many of the regiona€™s heads of state with the aim of putting together plans for the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, essentially an organization designed to counter US influence in the region.

This was to coincide with Venezuela’s bicentenary. As a firebrand revolutionary, Chavez always appears keen to grandstand at events that celebrate the break with colonization. Planning has been huge, and murals continue to be painted as helicopters swirl around Caracas in preparation for a military showcase on Tuesday. No announcement has been made on whether Chavez will be attending but it is looking unlikely with the summit canceled.

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Opposition seizes the momentWhile Chavistas remain confident, the opposition has jumped at the opportunity to attack not only Chavez and his government’s inability to give a straight answer as to his condition, but also the country’s ills. Henrique Capriles Radonski is a popular opposition leader and is most likely to win February’s primaries in order to fight Chavez in next year’s presidential elections.

After a rally in the Caracas slum of Petare, he said that he was not impressed that the socialist leadera€™s health was stealing focus from Venezuelaa€™s real troubles.

“The country's problems are not whether the president is or is not sick,” he said in a supporter’s kitchen among balloons and excited children – eerily echoing Chavez’s own immense public relations skills. “To me the problem is what is going on in [the prisons], the electrical problem and all the problems that every day we must solve as Venezuelans.”

He, like many analysts, believes that the whole situtation may be a political ploy in order to raise sympathy for Chavez before a “triumphant return” next week. He takes little interest in a growing debate on whether Chavez’s governance from Havana is legal, seeing it as a sideline to the real debate.

Other opposition figures disagree. “Pretending to be the president from Havana is totally unacceptable and unconstitutional. Every decision that he makes ... is totally illegal,” said opposition legislator Maria Corina Machado. "This way of handling information is typical of totalitarian regimes,” she continued. “It shows a lack of responsibility and bravery at a crucial time for all of us.”

Ominous warningsMeanwhile, Chavez’s elder brother Adan – who has taken the lead on publicizing positive spin on the president’s health – had ominous warnings for the opposition.

“It would be inexcusable to limit ourselves to only the electoral and not see other forms of struggle, including the armed struggle,” he said this week, quoting legendary Communist rebel fighter Che Guevara and reminding fans that taking up arms may be necessary to retain power should 2012 elections fail to continue Chavez's "21st century socialism."

Back in the socialist canteen, Torruloc maintains his confidence in the old guard.

“Remember that Fidel has been killed thousands of times,” he said with a smile. “If the opposition don't have Chavez, they go crazy. Without Chavez they're nothing, because they have nothing to talk about.”

RELATED: Where is Hugo Chavez?

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Fire hits riot-wracked Venezuelan prison (AP)

By CHRISTOPHER TOOTHAKER, Associated Press Christopher Toothaker, Associated Press – Sun Jun 19, 8:46 pm ET

GUATIRE, Venezuela – Fire ripped through a prison where thousands of Venezuelan troops struggled to put down a revolt by inmates on Sunday as dozens of horrified relatives tried to watch the fighting.

Officials gave few descriptions about the progress of the three-day battle at the Rodeo I prison and did not say if more people had been killed or injured beyond the three dead and 18 wounded reported on the first day of the clash. Gunfire continued to rattle from the compound.

Deputy Justice Minister Nestor Reverol told state television the pre-dawn fire was caused by a short circuit, and that inmates had been evacuated before flames engulfed a building. Some relatives outside said that prisoners with cell phones had told them troops started the blaze.

Evelyn Rodriguez, 27, climbed a nearby hill for a view and gasped when she peered through binoculars to see the prison blacked by the fire.

"My husband and my brother were inside that building," Rodriguez said, trying to hold back tears. "I have no idea what has happened to them."

The violence erupted in the El Rodeo I prison as troops searched for weapons, and has since extended to Rodeo II, an adjacent prison. A riot at El Rodeo I on June 12 left 22 dead.

It was not clear how many inmates remained at the prison or how many were resisting the troops. Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami said Sunday that at least 2,500 inmates had been transferred to other prisons.

A 5,000-strong security force, including 3,500 National Guard troops, was joined on Saturday by 400 soldiers from an elite army paratroop unit, according to officials.

Journalists from The Associated Press watched half a dozen armored vehicles circle courtyards inside the compound on Sunday. Troops lined up along tree-covered hillsides surrounding the prisons and repeatedly fired volleys of tear gas canisters.

Gunfire erupted sporadically throughout the day.

Venezuela's severely crowded prisons have suffered repeated violent outbursts as rival gangs often fight for control of cellblocks and sell weapons and drugs with the help of corrupt prison guards.

The country's 30 prisons were built to hold about 12,500 prisoners but instead hold about 49,000, according to the Venezuelan Prisons Observatory, a group that monitors prison conditions.

Last year, 476 peopled died and 967 people were injured in the country's prison system, according to figures compiled by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Human Rights Watch also said in a recent report that about three out of four inmates in Venezuela's prison system have yet to be sentenced due to backlogs in the country's slow-moving justice system.

Relatives and friends of prisoners complained on Sunday that authorities have not informed them if their loved ones are safe.

"This is a tremendous Father's Day present they've given us," Rodriguez said sourly.

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Venezuelan troops battle inmates at prison (AP)

CARACAS, Venezuela – Gunfire rang out at a Venezuelan prison for a second day Saturday as thousands of troops sought to regain control in battles that have left at least 3 dead and 18 wounded.

National Guard Gen. Luis Motta Dominguez said one inmate had died in addition to two National Guard troops whose deaths were confirmed earlier. At least 18 troops were reported wounded in Friday's clashes at the prison in Guatire, east of Caracas.

The violence erupted in the El Rodeo I prison as troops were searching it for weapons. A riot in the prison on June 12 left 22 dead.

About 50 inmates continued to resist the troops and were refusing dialogue, Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami told state television.

El Aissami later addressed the inmates with a megaphone, saying: "The call is for you to change your attitude and lay down your weapons." He said the prisoners' rights would be respected.

"Think about your families, about your children," he said.

More than 70 inmates accused of leading gangs within the prison were transferred elsewhere, El Aissami told state television.

Inmates relatives' protested earlier outside the prison, some of them weeping as troops stood guard in anti-riot gear. Soldiers used tear gas at one point Saturday to drive back the distraught relatives.

A 5,000-strong security force, including 3,500 National Guard troops, was joined on Saturday by 400 soldiers from an elite army paratroop unit, officials said. They were occupying both El Rodeo I and the adjacent El Rodeo II prison.

During Friday's search, soldiers seized seven rifles, five shotguns, 20 handguns and eight hand grenades, along with about 100 pounds (45 kilograms) of cocaine, 5,000 rifle cartridges and 100 cellular phones, Motta Dominguez said.

Venezuela's severely crowded prisons have suffered repeated violent outbursts as rival gangs often fight for control of cellblocks and sell weapons and drugs with the help of corrupt prison guards.

The country's 30 prisons were built to hold about 12,500 prisoners but instead hold about 49,000, according to the Venezuelan Prisons Observatory, a group that monitors prison conditions.

Last year, 476 peopled died and 967 people were injured in the country's prison system, according to figures compiled by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Human Rights Watch also said in a recent report that about three out of four inmates in Venezuela's prison system have yet to be sentenced due to backlogs in the country's slow-moving justice system.

President Hugo Chavez has pledged to improve conditions in the prisons, but the violence has worsened recently. After the deadly riot last week, the government announced that a new government ministry would be created to focus on prison issues.

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7 wounded as troops storm Venezuelan prison (AP)

GUATIRE, Venezuela – National Guard troops stormed a Venezuelan prison Friday seeking to disarm inmates days after a bloody riot, and at least seven troops were wounded by gunfire as some prisoners resisted.

Bursts of gunfire erupted inside the El Rodeo I prison while hundreds of inmates' relatives wept desperately outside the prison, some of them shouting, "Help them!" A military helicopter circled overhead.

At least seven National Guard troops were wounded by gunfire and were being treated, said Nestor Reverol, a deputy justice minister.

"Part of those who are incarcerated have resisted," Reverol told state television. He said they were in a prison tower and had refused to come down.

Fierce gunfire rang out inside the prison in what appeared be shootouts. A fire broke out in a prison tower, and then died down as the gunfire persisted.

More than 3,500 troops were taking part in the operation in El Rodeo I and El Rodeo II prisons in Guatire, east of the capital, Caracas, and had more than 1,700 inmates under control, Reverol said.

The violence erupted as troops were carrying out a search operation to disarm inmates, National Guard Gen. Luis Motta Dominguez told state television. A riot in the prison on Sunday left 21 inmates and a visitor dead.

Friday's clashes were the latest in a series of violent outbursts in Venezuela's severely crowded prisons, where rival gangs often fight for control of cellblocks and sell weapons and drugs with the help of corrupt prison guards.

As the gunfire raged in the prison Friday, inmates' relatives expressed anguish. Ambulances drove in and out of the prison compound.

"We have our hands tied," said Cecilia Mijares, 49, whose nephew was among the prisoners inside. "This started early this morning. Listen to the gunfire."

Government officials said the purpose of the operation was precisely to safeguard the lives of inmates.

Vice President Elias Jaua said the government's message for inmates' families is that "the intervention we're carrying out today isn't to massacre their relatives."

"It's to protect the lives of more than 5,000 inmates," Jaua said in a televised speech.

A total of 124 deaths were reported in Venezuela's prisons in the first three months of this year, a 22 percent increase over the same period last year, according to the Venezuelan Prisons Observatory, a watchdog group.

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