(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/130109-chavez-12p.photoblog600.jpg)Miguel Gutierrez / EPAA view of a wall depicting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Simon Bolivar in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 9, 2013.Venezuela's top court endorsed the postponement of Hugo Chavez's inauguration this week and ruled on Wednesday that the cancer-stricken president remained the South American OPEC nation's leader.
Follow @NBCNewsWorld (https://twitter.com/NBCNewsWorld)The 58-year-old socialist has not been seen in public nor heard from in almost a month following surgery in Cuba. The government says he is in a delicate condition and cannot attend Thursday's scheduled swearing-in for a new six-year term.
"Right now we cannot say when, how or where the president will be sworn in," Supreme Court Chief Judge Luisa Morales told a news conference.
"As president re-elect there is no interruption of performance of duties ... The inauguration can be carried out at a later date before the Supreme Court."
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