Venezuela's Hugo Chavez says he was treated for cancer

The announcement, which confirmed rumors swirling for nearly three weeks, threw the South American OPEC nation's politics into confusion ahead of a 2012 presidential election.

Looking grave and emotional in his speech, Chavez gave no indication when he would return to Venezuela and did not name a temporary substitute to lead the country of 29 million people.

"They confirmed the existence of a tumorous abscess, with the presence of cancerous cells, which required another operation to extract the tumor completely," he said in his first address to the nation since surgery in Havana on June 10.

Chavez said he was on the road to "full recovery."

"I deeply appreciate the demonstrations of solidarity by Venezuelans and other brotherly people," he added, standing at a lectern by a Venezuelan flag and a painting of his hero, South American independence hero Simon Bolivar.