MEXICO, March 5 (RIA Novosti) - Venezuelan authorities said on Tuesday that health condition of President Hugo Chavez, who is currently in a military hospital in Caracas, has deteriorated.

“Chavez suffers from deterioration in his respiratory system,” Venezuelan Communications and Information Minister Ernesto Villegas told a national television.

The minister added that Chavez, 58, encountered a new severe respiratory infection.

Chavez, who has ruled Venezuela for 13 years, underwent four surgeries and four courses of chemotherapy in Cuba and Venezuela within the past two years. His fourth operation, to remove cancerous tissue, took place in Cuba on December 11.

Chavez's new term inauguration had been slated for January 11, but he was unable to attend it for health reasons. On January 9, Venezuela’s Supreme Court ruled to postpone Chavez’s inauguration until he completed his latest round of treatment.