"This is the beginning of the return," Chávez told the state-controlled television channel VTV shortly after stepping off a plane at Venezuela's Maiquetia airport, just outside the capital, in the early hours. "We are very happy to be back home."
"Greetings to the Venezuelan people with my whole heart; 1m kisses and 1m hugs," added Chávez, who only admitted to having received treatment for cancer last Thursday night after weeks of secrecy and speculation.
Within hours of touching down, Chávez was back on Twitter and preparing to make his first public appearance since the start of June.
"So I am back at home and very happy," said a message on his
@chavezcandanga account. "Good day my beloved Venezuela. Good day my beloved people. Thank you my God. This is the start of the Return."
Authorities in Caracas invited supporters to congregate outside Venezuela's Miraflores Palace at 5pm local time, when Chávez is expected to make a public address.
"We are delighted the president is home," the vice-president, Elías Jaua, told state television.
Political analysts had harboured suspicions that Chávez might attempt a high-profile homecoming to coincide with Venezuela's independence celebrations on Tuesday – although those chances appeared to have faded last Thursday after Chávez's admission that he had been diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer.
"This could be an opportunity for Chávez to change his image, create some kind of emotional link with his supporters, and help him reconnect with the rest of the country," the Barclays analysts Alejandro Grisanti and Alejandro Arreaza noted last month.
Chávez denied he would make an appearance to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Venezuela's independence from Spain. "I don't think I will be able to join you tomorrow for the official celebrations. But I am with you, back in my command post," he said.
"I am back at the epicentre of Bolivar," Chávez said, in a reference to Simon Bolivar, the South American liberator and inspiration for the socialist leader's 21st-century "revolution".