Ariana Cubillos/Associated Press
National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello gestures before addressing the National Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013. Allies of President Hugo Chavez on Saturday chose to keep Cabello as National Assembly president, who is the next in line to step in as a caretaker leader in some circumstances. Opposition leaders have argued that if Chavez doesn't make it back by Jan. 10 to Venezuela from Cuba where he underwent cancer surgery, the president of the National Assembly should take over as interim president. If Chavez dies or is declared incapacitated, the constitution says that a new election should be called and held within 30 days. Cabello is a longtime Chavez ally who is widely considered to wield influence within the military.