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Venezuelan government raids home over Twitter rumors regarding president's health

Venezuelan government raids home over Twitter rumors regarding president's health

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On Sunday night, the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service raided the home of a Venezuelan suspected of spreading rumors about president Hugo Chávez's health on Twitter. The intelligence service suspects that the cousin of a prominent Venezuelan opposition member, Federico Medina Ravell, runs the @LucioQuincioC Twitter account. To the government's chagrin, @LucioQuincioC has claimed that the president, who was flown to Cuba for emergency cancer surgery about a month ago, will not recover in time for his inauguration ceremony this Thursday. Last week, an official health bulletin revealed that Chávez developed a severe lung infection following the surgery, and it's no surprise that rumors about the president's well-being have cropped up to fill the dearth of information. Ravell was not at home at the time of the raid, but the offending Twitter — which may even be run by multiple users — has not been stifled by the events.