Hugo Chávez missed the Summit of the Americas meeting in Colombia because of a need for more cancer treatments.
Greg Weeks notes what this means:
The bottom line is that this is not something Chávez wants to miss. There are relatively few opportunities to overcome the power imbalance between him and the U.S. president, but having a summit where both are present is one. International institutions offer that possibility at times. He can say whatever he wants, bring some sort of symbolic gift, etc., and the U.S. president has to deal with it. The fact that he is giving that up says more about his health than any rumor.
Indeed.
