New, Oddly Posed Photos of Hugo Chavez in the Hospital Emerge

Hugo Chávez hasn't been seen or heard from by the public since December 10, right before he underwent surgery in Havana, Cuba. Now, new pictures of the Venezuelan president have emerged, and they're pretty oddly staged.

In the photos, Chávez is surrounded by his daughters Rosa and Maria in what appears to be a hospital.

In the photo above, Chávez appears to be reading the back page of the Cuban newspaper Granma as his two daughters look on intensely. Because everyone knows that the most captivating page of a newspaper is the back page. That's where they hide all the good stories.

Clearly, the odd posing has nothing to do with making sure that a newspaper front page from yesterday is clearly in focus to prove that the photos are recent, and that Chávez hasn't been secretly dead for months or something. How can a dead man read today's newspaper?

Of course, the new photos do prove that Chávez isn't doing so well.

According to the AP, the cancer-stricken leader is breathing through a tracheal tube that makes it difficult for him speak.

"After two months of a complicated postoperative process, the patient remains conscious, with his intellectual functions intact, in close communication with his government team," Information Minister Ernesto Villegas informed Venezuela on state television this morning.

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