Good News: Hugo Chavez Has Kidney Failure

He won't be missed.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who has been fighting cancer, was rushed to a Caracas military hospital after suffering kidney failure, according to a report late Wednesday -- which sparked an angry response from the government.

The leftist, staunchly anti-US stalwart Chavez went into the Military Hospital in Caracas on Tuesday morning, the El Nuevo Herald newspaper reported on its website, citing anonymous sources with knowledge of the case.

"He was in fairly serious overall condition," one of the sources told the Miami-based Spanish-language daily. "When he arrived, he was in quite serious shape and that is why he was brought in for emergency care."

Venezuela's Information Minister Andres Izarra appeared to deny the report in a posting on Twitter.

"Those who should be admitted are the journalists of the Nuevo Herald, except into a madhouse [instead of a hospital]," Izarra tweeted.

On Sunday, Chavez sought to assure Venezuelans he was healthy, telling them that cancer-fighting chemotherapy treatment has not left him with any debilitating side effects.

Chavez returned to Venezuela late last Thursday following what he described as a fourth and hopefully final round of chemotherapy in Cuba.

More here.

In a sign his condition might be deteriorating, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has been sent again to the Carlos Arvelo Military Hospital in Caracas. Wednesday, his doctors were considering transferring him to the private Caracas Clinics Hospital, where he could be better treated for his renal-insufficiency problems, said sources close to the situation.

Let's just hope he can hold on until his good buddy Sean Penn arrives at his bedside.