Paraguay’s president returns home, resumes duties after treatment in Brazil for blood clot

Paraguay leader returns after treatment in Brazil

ASUNCION, Paraguay — Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo returned home Wednesday and resumed his office after undergoing treatment in Brazil for a blood clot that doctors say resulted from chemotherapy for cancer.

Lugo had turned over presidential duties to his vice president Saturday before going to Sao Paulo with the expectation of having surgery. His Brazilian doctors later said surgery was not necessary.

His voice breaking with emotion, Lugo delivered a brief message to the nation at the airport, thanking “all those who were with me in this ordeal.”

He was released from the Hospital Sirio Libanes on Wednesday, with his doctors saying he was “in good clinical condition.”

Lugo, a 59-year-old former Roman Catholic bishop, is receiving treatment for what doctors describe as three apparently low-grade lymphoma — in the groin, chest and the third lumbar vertebra.