(Image Source: CNN ) BY CHARESSE JAMES ANCHOR ZACH TOOMBS Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced Sunday that he would be returning to Cuba for additional cancer surgery. CNN : “It was very emotional - not only was he telling Venezuela but also people here in Cuba that he has a recurrence of his cancer. …  Before the elections in October, he said that he’d been cured of cancer.” This will be President Chavez’s third operation in the past year and a half to remove an unspecified type of pelvic cancer. According to Bloomberg , under Venezuelan law, if Chavez is too ill to carry out his duties... ...the vice president would take over until the beginning of the new presidential term Jan. 10. And if Chavez is still unable to serve as president on that date... “...the president of the National Assembly would assume power while elections are arranged within 30 days. If he does take office and then becomes too ill within the first four years of the term, the vice president takes over the presidency for 30 days while elections are held.” In an effort to keep their political party alive, Chavez encouraged his supporters to vote for his Vice President Nicolas Maduro should he himself became too ill to fulfil his presidential duties.  So who is the potential new leader of Venezuela? Maduro has long been a high-profile face in Chavez's administration. Maduro is also Venezuela's foreign minister, a position he's held since 2006. In that role, Maduro has been the South American country's top diplomat as tensions rose with the United States and ties strengthened with Cuba. According to The Guardian ... “Maduro is seen by some as responsible for some of Venezuela's most radical, anti-imperialist foreign decisions, and strengthening the country's ties with Libya, Syria and Iran. To others, [he] is the gentle conciliator behind the remarkable turnaround in previously hostile relations with Colombia...” This marks the first time in Chavez’s political career that he has made any mention of retirement. An analyst for the BBC believes it may reflect the direness of the president’s situation and be an attempt to continue his legacy after he’s too ill to lead. “Obviously if he were to hand the reign to somebody - give them his blessing, get behind them, stay somewhat in the picture to unify the party behind another leader - then i think Chavismo and the socialist party itself have a much better chance of continuing on.” According to the Associated Press, Chavez will remain president while he is being treated in Cuba.