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Bolivian President Evo Morales said Wednesday that he was unable to meet with his friend and ally Hugo Chavez when he came to the military hospital in Caracas where the Venezuelan President is undergoing unspecified cancer treatment, AP reported. 

Mr. Morales had arrived at the hospital on Tuesday night along with Vice-President Nicolas Maduro in a convoy of vehicles escorted by troops on motorcycles, and the Bolivian leader left later without speaking to journalists who were waiting outside the hospital.

“I wasn’t able to meet him,” Mr. Morales said at a news conference at the United Nations. “I was only able to meet the head doctor and his family, but my understanding is that they are very encouraged.”

Mr. Morales added, however, that Mr. Chavez has been going through “the most difficult moments in his life” and is still facing serious health problems.

“Now that he’s returned to Caracas it’s a great relief,” Mr. Morales said.

It was the second time that Mr. Morales has tried to see Mr. Chavez since his latest surgery. The Bolivian leader travelled to Havana in December, but later gave few details about the quick trip. The visits underscore Mr. Chavez’s importance to a generation of Latin American leftists who consider him the heir of Fidel Castro and his efforts to stand up to what they consider U.S. imperialism.

It remains unclear what treatments Mr. Chavez is currently receiving, though medical experts say it could be more chemotherapy or other sorts of drug treatments, depending on the type of pelvic cancer he is fighting.

His supporters have been showing their support writing celebratory slogans on the windows of buses and cars in Caracas, such as “Chavez is alive” and “He’s back.”