Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez died in hospital on Tuesday afternoon (March 5, 2013) at the age of 58 after developing a severe respiratory infection during his a long battle against cancer. With his voice cracking and close to tears, vice President Nicolás Maduro, surrounded by other government officials, announced the death in a national television broadcast. The hardest and most tragic news left Venezuelans seven days of painful and public mourning. Hugo Chavez had been seriously ill with cancer for nearly two years, undergoing four operations in Cuba, and had not been seen in public since his last surgery on December 11. The heroic leader died at 4:25 pm local time in a military hospital in Caracas, the capital of the country he has ruled since 1999. His charismatic style, anti-US rhetoric and oil-financed policies won favour among many country’s residents. The government said Mr Chavez's body would lie in state until Friday (March 8, 2013) when his funeral would be held. The president's death is expected to trigger a snap election that will test whether his socialist revolution can live on without his dominant personality at the helm.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has died in hospital at the age of 58 after developing a severe respiratory infection during his two-year battle with cancer, ending the socialist leader's 14-year rule of the South American country.
Hugo Chavez was looking at the Cuba Communist Party newspaper Granma, smiling between his daughters, Rosa Virginia and Maria while recovering from cancer surgery in Havana. The photograph was released by the Ministry of Information on February 15, 2013.
The president hugged his daughters Rosa and Maria while appearing to supporters on a balcony of Miraflores Palace soon after his return to the country from Cuba in July 2011.
Hugo Chavez and his wife Marisabel RodrÃguez de Chávez watched a parade on Children's Day with their daughter Rosa Ines in Caracas, Venezuela in 2001.
Hugo Chavez’s wife Marisabel Rodriguez waved to cheering supporters after his inauguration ceremony at the Congress in downtown Caracas. The socialist leader was first elected president of Venezuela in 1998.
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Articles Source: Hugo Chavez's funeral scheduled for Friday, Venezuela declares 7 days of mourning