The socialist leader's
14-year rule of the South American country, during which he severed ties with
Israel, supported the Palestinian cause and backed Iran's right to a nuclear
energy program, has come to an end.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the fiery populist who
declared a socialist revolution in his country, crusaded against U.S. influence
and championed a leftist revival across Latin America, died Tuesday at age 58
after a nearly two-year bout with cancer.
Vice President Nicolas
Maduro, surrounded by other government officials, announced the death in a
national television broadcast. He said Chavez died at in Caracas at 4:25 P.M.
local time.
Chavez's corpse will lie in
state through Friday when a public funeral will be held with invited guests
from across Latin America, Foreign Minister Elias Jaua said late on Tuesday.
He declared seven days of
mourning for the leader who died of cancer and said Chavez's body would be
transferred from hospital to a military academy on Wednesday.
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