Chavez, 58, has been undergoing "chemotherapy of strong impact, " Villegas added without providing further details.
Three players share fifth place on six-under, Ashley Hall, Manny Villegas and Mathew Goggin.
Last week, Villegas and another top government official struck a somber tone when discussing the president's illness.
The Americans hit back with Kenny Perry and Zach Johnson overcoming Argentina's Angel Cabrera and Colombian Camilo Villegas.
Chavez is temporarily having difficulty speaking after doctors inserted a tracheal tube, Venezuelan Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said.
Ernesto Villegas said the president was following a strict treatment regimen for "respiratory insufficiency" caused by the infection.
CNN: Venezuelan court says inauguration day delay OK for Chavez
Victories quickly followed for Hunter Mahan over Camilio Villegas, Anthony Kim against Robert Allenby and Sean O'Hair over Ernie Els.
Minister of Information Ernesto Villegas said initial investigations confirmed a link between the killing and the struggle for land rights.
His condition was "stable", and he was "responding to the treatment", said Information Minister Ernesto Villegas in his latest update.
Villegas has suggested Chavez might not be not be back in Venezuela in time for his inauguration scheduled for next month.
Tatiana Villegas highlighted the critical importance of in situ protection as the first option that should be implemented under protection programmes.
However, the visitors were still able to trouble England, with Constant Villegas and Dimitri Pelo both going close to punishing handling errors.
Villegas has suggested Chavez might not be not be back in Venezuela in time for his inauguration, which is scheduled for January 10.
Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said that as the Venezuelan leader was breathing through a tracheal tube, it was difficult for him to speak.
This year, Garcia lost playoffs to run second place to Vijay Singh at The Barclays and to Camilo Villegas at the Tour Championship.
Robert Karlsson, Harris English and Ted Potter Jr. shot 64, and two-time major champion Angel Cabrera, Ryan Palmer and Camilo Villegas were at 65.
Minister Ernesto Villegas said then that the infection was under control.
On Saturday, Venezuelan Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said President Chavez "had overcome" the respiratory infection he had contracted following his fourth cancer surgery on 11 December.
BBC: Venezuela VP Maduro reads out 'Chavez letter' at summit
"There is a worsening of the respiratory function, related to the state of his depressed immune system, " Villegas said, reading an official statement on state-run VTV.
CNN: Battling a new infection, Chavez has breathing problems
Twenty-six year old Camilo Villegas climbed to number seven in the world rankings this year after successive wins at the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship.
"The breathing insufficiency that emerged post-operation persists, and the tendency has not been favourable, so it is still being treated, " Mr Villegas said in a televised statement.
Maduro had said last week that Chavez's body would be perpetually displayed, but Information Minister Ernesto Villegas announced Friday night that the government had discarded that option.
"The general evolution of the patient is favorable, " said Villegas, who spoke in Santiago, Chile, where he is attending a meeting of European and Latin American leaders.
Mr Villegas, speaking on state television on Sunday, said that the president "is conscious, communicating with his family, his political team and the medical team treating him".
Following Mr Maduro's announcement, Information Minister Ernesto Villegas appeared in a special programme on Venezuelan TV, calling on Venezuelans not to believe rumours about the president's health.
Late on Sunday, Mr Villegas said a government-organised New Year's Eve concert in central Caracas had been cancelled and he urged Venezuelans to pray for President Chavez.
Other notable names to feature at Loch Lomond include Sir Nick Faldo, Colin Montgomerie, Sandy Lyle, Jose Maria Olazabal, Camilo Villegas, Ian Poulter, Boo Weekly and Adam Scott.
Mr Villegas warned Venezuelans not to be taken in by a "psychological war" being fought in the media which had the "ultimate aim of destabilising the Bolivarian republic".
Minister Ernesto Villegas said then that the infection was controlled.
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