Venezuelan President-elect Hugo Ch?vez will not be coming to Santo Domingo on Thursday as originally planned, Ch?vez spokesmen announced yesterday. Alfredo Toro Hardy, tapped by Ch?vez to be the next Venezuelan Ambassador to the U.S., told reporters that health problems will prevent the President-elect from making planned Thursday visits to New York City and Santo Domingo. Ch?vez suffers from acute colitis, an inflammation of the colon, explained the future President’s doctor, Luis Chang Chen. The designated Minister of the Presidency, Alfredo Pe?a Ch?vez, assured the media that the President-elect will keep today’s appointments in Washington, D.C. with U.S. President Bill Clinton and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Director Michael Camdessus. Ch?vez visited the DR in 1998 while still a presidential candidate; at that time he was hosted by Dr. Onofre Rojas, director of the Presidential Commission for the Reform and Modernization of the State. Since his election in November 1998, Ch?vez has repeatedly said that he envisions making the DR a pivotal part of his administration’s foreign policy. Dominican President Leonel Fern?ndez has promised that he will attend Ch?vez’s inauguration in Caracas on February 2nd.
