Hugo Chavez

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'World's Tallest Slum' Evicted
 'World's Tallest Slum' Evicted 

'World's Tallest Slum' Evicted

45-story Venezuelan tower housed thousands of squatters

(Newser) - The beginning of the end came for the world's tallest slum yesterday as officials began evicting thousands of squatters from a haphazard community inside a half-built skyscraper in Caracas known as the Tower of David. Soldiers and riot police stood by as dozens of residents boarded buses for their...

New Trend in Latin America: Exhuming the Dead

Often, investigators want to see if political leaders were murdered

(Newser) - Lately, Latin America is really into ... exhuming political and intellectual leaders. As the New York Times explains it, the region has always been more inclined toward exhumation than the rest of the world, a custom that could date back to the early days of Christianity, when saints' body parts were...

Chavez Heir Squeaks a Win in Venezuela; Recount Sought

Maduro took 50.7% to Capriles' 49.1%

(Newser) - Nicolas Maduro, the former bus driver Hugo Chavez chose as his political heir, has triumphed in Venezuela's presidential election by a margin much narrower than expected. Electoral official say Maduro took 50.7% of the votes to 49.1% for opposition challenger Henrique Capriles, the AP reports. Maduro, who...

Venezuela Votes in a Referendum on Chavez

Maduro still favored, but many are disenchanted with Hugo's legacy

(Newser) - Election day in Venezuela began today before dawn, with lines forming in the dark as bugle calls and a recording of the late Hugo Chavez singing the national anthem rang out. Chavez haunts the proceedings in more than one way, with handpicked successor and longtime deputy Nicolas Maduro facing a...

Now US Trying to Kill Candidate, Claims Venezuela

'Nonsense,' says former Bush official cited in Maduro's allegation

(Newser) - American right-wingers are conspiring to take action in Venezuela and kill ... its pro-business opposition leader Henrique Capriles? That's the theory being pushed by acting president Nicolas Maduro, reports Reuters . "We have detected plans by the far right, linked to the groups of (former Bush administration officials) Roger Noriega...

Chavez May Not Be Embalmed After All

VP Maduro says his body wasn't prepared in time

(Newser) - Looks like Hugo Chavez will not be joining the ranks of Mao and Lenin as leaders embalmed for all eternity. Venezuelan VP Nicolas Maduro said today that plans to put Chavez's body on permanent display will likely be scrapped, reports AP . Maduro said the government consulted Russian experts who...

Chavez Poison Theory Being Investigated

Nicolas Maduro hints that he's accusing US

(Newser) - Apparently Venezuela is taking this whole Chavez- was - poisoned theory pretty seriously: Acting President Nicolas Maduro told a regional TV network last night that the country will launch a formal inquiry into just how Chavez ended up with cancer, Reuters reports. "We will seek the truth," Maduro...

Venezuela Sets Date for Next Election

Henrique Capriles offered opposition candidacy

(Newser) - Venezuelans will vote April 14 to choose a successor to Hugo Chavez, the elections commission announced today as increasingly strident political rhetoric begins to roil this polarized country. The constitution mandated the election be held within 30 days of Chavez's March 5 death , but the date picked falls outside...

Venezuela Bids Farewell to Chavez

VP makes point to recognize US delegation at funeral

(Newser) - Venezuela's Hugo Chavez was lauded as a modern-day reincarnation of Latin American liberator Simon Bolivar at a fiery, foot-stomping state funeral that at times smacked of a political rally as presidents, princes, and left-wing glitterati looked on. Chavez's hand-picked successor, Nicolas Maduro, eulogized the fallen leader at the...

Chavez Funeral Details a Mystery Hours From Its Start

As leaders from 5 continents flock to Venezuela

(Newser) - Hugo Chavez's state funeral is today, and leaders from around the world have traveled to Caracas for the event—which is set to begin at 10:30am local time but whose details have been, per the AP , "shrouded in astonishing secrecy." At least 50 countries from five...

Chavez's Body Will Go On Permanent Display

So 'his people will always have him,' says VP

(Newser) - Venezuela is giving Hugo Chavez the Mao treatment: His body will go on permanent display at a museum near the presidential palace, reports AP . Chavez will be in a glass casket so "his people will always have him," says VP Nicolas Maduro. The state funeral for Chavez—who...

Chavez's Last Words: 'Please Don't Let Me Die'

Venezuelan leader died of a heart attack: official

(Newser) - Hugo Chavez died of a massive heart attack, the head of his presidential guard said last night, and with his last words the Venezuelan leader expressed his desire to live. "He couldn't speak but he said it with his lips ... 'I don't want to die. Please...

Ahmadinejad: Chavez Will Rise Again With Jesus

He'll be back on resurrection day, says Iran's president

(Newser) - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wins the crown for praise of Hugo Chavez, declaring in a letter to the Venezuelan people that Chavez will be resurrected with Jesus and a revered Shiite imam, reports the Guardian . “I have no doubt he will come again along with all the righteous people and the...

Chavez's Legacy: Worthy of Praise or Scorn?

He was no Stalin, argues Greg Grandin

(Newser) - Don't call Hugo Chavez a tyrant or poisonous dictator, writes Greg Grandin in an in-depth look at Venezuela's recently departed leader in the Nation . Chavez may have been a strongman, but he submitted his leadership and his policies to the people 14 times during his 14-year rule, and...

What Now for Venezuela?
 What Now for Venezuela?  

What Now for Venezuela?

Power struggles loom after Chavez death

(Newser) - Venezuelans now have a final answer to questions about Hugo Chavez's health, but the leader's death has presented the country with a host of new uncertainties. Vice President Nicolas Maduro, Chavez's chosen successor, is leading the country for now, but an election will be called within 30...

Leaders, Hollywood React to Chavez Death

'I lost a friend I was blessed to have' says Sean Penn

(Newser) - Reactions to the death of Hugo Chavez range from the jubilant to the devastated, with the most heartfelt tributes to the late Venezuelan leader coming from his allies in Latin America—and Hollywood.
  • "Chavez will continue to be an inspiration for all peoples who fight for their liberation,"
...

Hugo Chavez: Good Riddance?
 Hugo Chavez: Good Riddance? 
OPINION ROUNDUP

Hugo Chavez: Good Riddance?

Division may be his biggest legacy

(Newser) - The death of Hugo Chavez has left opinions on the Venezuelan leader's rule as divided as ever. His achievements in lifting millions out of poverty are sure to see him remembered as one of Latin America's great socialists, but many point to his disrespect for democratic institutions and...

Chavez's Nuttiest Theories
 Chavez's Nuttiest Theories 

Chavez's Nuttiest Theories

Remember how capitalism killed life on Mars?

(Newser) - The Los Angeles Times rounds up some of the more memorable declarations of the late Hugo Chavez , including:
  • Mars: He theorized in 2011 that the red planet once might have had life but that capitalism and "imperialism" arrived on the planet and killed it.
  • Cancer plot: He once speculated
...

Hugo Chavez, in Images
 Hugo Chavez, in Images 

Hugo Chavez, in Images

Venezuelan leader dead at age 58

(Newser) - As the analyses start to filter in in the wake of the death of Hugo Chavez , the Huffington Post offers a slideshow of memorable moments from his life here . Reuters offers its version here .

Hugo Chavez Dead
 Hugo Chavez Dead at 58 

Hugo Chavez Dead at 58

Venezuela's vice president announces the news

(Newser) - President Hugo Chavez, the fiery populist who declared a socialist revolution in Venezuela, crusaded against US influence, and championed a leftist revival across Latin America, died today at age 58 after a nearly two-year bout with cancer. Vice President Nicolas Maduro, surrounded by other government officials, announced the death in...

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