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| Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez dead |
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez dead
Vice President Nicolas Maduro's voice broke and tears ran down his face as he appeared on national television to announce that Chavez died at 4:25 p.m. local time 3:55 p.m EST "after battling hard against an illness over nearly two years."
Chavez's illness prevented him from taking the oath of office after he was re-elected to a new term on Oct. 7 and under the constitution, National Assembly chief Diosdado Cabello apparently would take over as interim president.
But there was no sign of Cabello on the podium as Maduro announced Chavez's death.
Chavez's inner circle has long claimed the United States was behind a failed 2002 attempt to overthrow him, and he has frequently played the anti-American card to stir up support. Venezuela has been without a U.S. ambassador since July 2010.
On the other side of Venezuela's political divide was Carlos Quijada, a 38-year-old economist who said he was sad that death rather than an election defeat had written Chavez's political obituary.
"Now there is a lot of uncertainty about what is going to happen," he said.
“He’s the best president in history,” said Andrés Mejía, 65, a retiree in Cumaná, an eastern city, crying as he gathered with friends in a plaza. “Look at how emotional I am — I’m crying. I cannot accept the president’s death. But the revolution will continue with Maduro.”
Last May, the former army paratrooper said he had recovered from an unspecified cancer, after undergoing surgery and chemotherapy in 2011 and a further operation in February 2012.
However, in December, he announced he needed further cancer surgery in Cuba, and named Mr Maduro as his preferred successor. Mr Chavez returned to Venezuela in February, but was confined to hospital.
Chavez's illness prevented him from taking the oath of office after he was re-elected to a new term on Oct. 7 and under the constitution, National Assembly chief Diosdado Cabello apparently would take over as interim president.
But there was no sign of Cabello on the podium as Maduro announced Chavez's death.
Chavez's inner circle has long claimed the United States was behind a failed 2002 attempt to overthrow him, and he has frequently played the anti-American card to stir up support. Venezuela has been without a U.S. ambassador since July 2010.
On the other side of Venezuela's political divide was Carlos Quijada, a 38-year-old economist who said he was sad that death rather than an election defeat had written Chavez's political obituary.
"Now there is a lot of uncertainty about what is going to happen," he said.
“He’s the best president in history,” said Andrés Mejía, 65, a retiree in Cumaná, an eastern city, crying as he gathered with friends in a plaza. “Look at how emotional I am — I’m crying. I cannot accept the president’s death. But the revolution will continue with Maduro.”
Last May, the former army paratrooper said he had recovered from an unspecified cancer, after undergoing surgery and chemotherapy in 2011 and a further operation in February 2012.
However, in December, he announced he needed further cancer surgery in Cuba, and named Mr Maduro as his preferred successor. Mr Chavez returned to Venezuela in February, but was confined to hospital.
