Updated at 1:23 p.m. ET
CARACAS, Venezuela Venezuela's government says President Hugo Chavez is going through "pre-operative" steps for cancer surgery in Cuba.
According to the statement, Chavez was being prepared to undergo surgery in Havana Tuesday, CBS News' Portia Siegelbaum reports.
Information Minister Ernesto Villegas read the announcement on television.
In the statement, the government also urged Venezuelans to pray.
Venezuela released the statement on Tuesday after Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said Chavez was undergoing the operation "at this moment."
"At this time he's passing through one of the hardest moments of his life. Our heart and our solidarity go out to a historic president," Correa said at an event in the Ecuadorean city of Tulcan.
Correa, a close ally of the Venezuelan leader, traveled to Cuba on Monday and met with Chavez.
Chavez announced on Saturday that he needed to undergo a third cancer-related surgery in about a year and a half after tests showed that "some malignant cells" had reappeared in the same area where tumors were previously removed.
Chavez also said for the first time that if his illness cuts short his presidency, Vice President Nicolas Maduro should take his place and should be elected president to lead his leftist movement.
The operation aims to remove cancerous tissue from Chavez's pelvic area. An initial surgery for a pelvic abscess in June 2011 helped reveal he had cancer.
Chavez has also undergone chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
Venezuela: Hugo Chavez being prepped for surgery
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Venezuela: Hugo Chavez being prepped for surgery
