CARACAS — Top government officials are threatening to take action against opposition governors and issuing dark warnings about conspiracies against the government of President Hugo Chavez, who is ailing and remains incommunicado in Cuba.

At a large rally for the cancer-stricken Chavez on Jan. 10, the day designated for his inauguration, Vice President Nicolas Maduro sent a warning to government critics who had objected to a Supreme Court ruling that endorsed the indefinite postponement of the president’s swearing-in.