Chavez has full intellectual capacity after surgery

CARACAS - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has recovered "full intellectual capacity" after a six-hour cancer operation in Cuba this week, an official said on Saturday, but offered few details on the socialist firebrand's physical condition.

Chavez's health weakened sharply after his October re-election, casting doubt on the future of his "21st century socialism," which has won broad popular support but also infuriated adversaries who call him an aspiring dictator.

Science and Technology Minister Jorge Arreaza, who is also Chavez's son-in-law, said in a phone call from Havana broadcast over state television that Chavez was continuing to recover.