I actually don’t want this guy to die. If he kicks off now he’ll be made a martyr, and the failures in his country will — in the future — be ascribed to him being unable to complete “the revolution”. I want none of that. I want his ass and his socialist ideology taking the rightful blame for the disaster unfolding in Venezuela.

Hugo Chavez, who has been fighting cancer, was rushed to a military hospital for emergency care following kidney failure, according to reports.

The leftist, staunchly anti-US stalwart Chavez went into the Military Hospital in Caracas on Tuesday morning, the report on the newspaper’s website said, citing anonymous sources with knowledge of the case.

“He was in fairly serious overall condition,” a source told the Miami-based Spanish-language daily. “When he arrived, he was in quite serious shape and that is why he was brought in for emergency care.”

Venezuela is kinda-sort denying:

Venezuela’s Information Minister Andres Izarra appeared to deny the report in a posting on the micro-blogging website Twitter.

“Those who should be admitted are the journalists of the Nuevo Herald, except into a madhouse (instead of a hospital),” Izarra tweeted, without providing further details.

That’s a weak denial.

Chavez, you’ll recall, is battling cancer. He just recently returned from his fourth round of chemotherapy. He had a cancerous tumor removed in late June, though it’s not clear what form of cancer he’s fighting.

According to the Telegraph, Chavez has remained uncharacteristically out of the media spotlight since returning from Cuba. He has also neglected his Twitter account. Cuban state media has released photos of a bald Chavez looking weaker than usual.