Chavez will remain in power regardless - VP

Venezuelan vice president Nicolas Maduro says ailing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will remain in power even if he fails to attend a ceremony this week in which he’s scheduled to be sworn in for another term.

Maduro said opponents of the socialist president, who is recovering from cancer surgery in Cuba, are distorting the constitution by saying that Chavez must show up for Thursday’s swearing-in ceremony or be declared ineligible to govern.

He said Venezuela’s charter is flexible, and if needed the Supreme Court can set the date, manner and location Chavez will be sworn in for the third, six-year term he won in October by a landslide.