He said then he was continuing treatment but did not specify what that treatment entailed, where the tumor was located or when he would return to Venezuela.

Prior to that announcement, the Venezuelan leader had kept a notably low profile in the three weeks since officials announced that doctors operated on him, sparking rampant rumors about his health and the country's political future.

He spoke from the balcony of the presidential palace just one day before the country is set to celebrate its bicentennial.

The president said he was under the strict supervision of doctors, eating well and exercising.

"We will win this battle for life," he said. "I put myself first in the hands of God, and second in the hands of medical science."