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The controversial leader had a slew of Hollywood heavyweights supporting him throughout his reign, with the most vocal two being actor Sean Penn and filmmaker Oliver Stone. "Today the people of the United States lost a friend it never knew it had. And poor people around the world lost a champion," says Penn in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. "I lost a friend I was blessed to have. My thoughts are with the family of President Chavez and the people of Venezuela."

DORAL, Fla. (AP) -- Venezuelans in the U.S. cheered and expressed cautious optimism that new elections will bring change to their homeland after the death of President Hugo Chavez. "My hope is that Venezuela will become a free country once again," said Elizabeth Gonazalez, 52, who wore a smiley face sticker on her sweater with the words, "Venezuela without Chavez."

All one needs to know about Hugo Chávez’s poisonous political legacy can be determined from the circumstances in which he died. Or how little we know about the manner in which—or when, or how—he died. As Venezuela’s bombastic caudillo was expiring in Cuba—and then at a military hospital in Caracas—various newspapers, pundits, and bloggers had already declared him dead, speculated on the cause of his supposed death, and examined the fragmentary evidence of his condition in an attempt to determine with what he was afflicted. His handpicked successor, the fanatically loyal former union leader Nicolas Maduro, denounced those who speculated...

Now that Hugo Chávez is out of the picture, former U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela Otto Reich warns President Obama to tread carefully in dealing with the “evil, evil men” that are now running the South American nation. “These guys are so tricky and so evil, quite frankly,” Reich, tells Newsmax in an exclusive interview following the announcement of Chávez’ death on Tuesday. “The people in power in Venezuela today are evil.” … Reich added that Fidel Castro and his brother may be calling the shots in Venezuela. …

BOSTON (AP) -- Former U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy II is mourning the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, saying he cared deeply about the poor. Kennedy, who heads Citizens Energy, said Chavez and the people of Venezuela donated about 200 million gallons of heating oil to Citizens Energy, which distributes oil to lower income families in 25 states and Washington D.C.

Former President Jimmy Carter released the following statement on the passing of Hugo Chavez: "Rosalynn and I extend our condolences to the family of Hugo Chávez Frías. We met Hugo Chávez when he was campaigning for president in 1998 and The Carter Center was invited to observe elections for the first time in Venezuela. We returned often, for the 2000 elections, and then to facilitate dialogue during the political conflict of 2002-2004. We came to know a man who expressed a vision to bring profound changes to his country to benefit especially those people who had felt neglected and marginalized....

Well folks, proud anti-American Hugo Chavez has finally bought it. The right has been resilient down there -considering- yet the VP who's recently taken charge of affairs is not just a Marxist but a Sopranos-style thug who's reportedly managed executions of Chavez opponents in the past, so any expecting a more just and uncorrupted democratic process are probably in for some disappointment... Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez dead at 58... VENEZUELA DEPLOYS ARMY AND POLICE... Fears of spiralling violence... Venezuela Expels American 'Spies'... Socialist Leader 'Amassed Private Fortune of $2 Billion'... Penn: 'I Mourn a Great Hero'.. h/t Drudge

Hugo Chavez net worth: Hugo Chavez was a Venezuelan politician who had a net worth of $1 billion at the time of his death on March 5th 2013. Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias was born in was born July 28, 1954 in Sanbaneta, Venezuela. When he died, Chavez had been the President of Venezuela since February 2, 1999. At age 17, Chavez enrolled in the Venezuelan Academy of Military Sciences, graduating in 1975 as a sub-lieutenant with a degree in Military Arts & Sciences. Upon completing his studies, Chavez entered active military service as a member of a counter insurgency battalion...

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter mourned the death Tuesday of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, hailing his commitment to improving the lives of Venezuelans, and praising him for communicating “hope and empowerment” and for “his bold assertion of autonomy and independence for Latin American governments.” According to a statement posted at the Carter Center website, Mr. Carter and his wife Rosalynn “came to know a man who expressed a vision to bring profound changes to his country to benefit especially those people who had felt neglected and marginalized.” The 288-word statement included the 13-word caveat, “we have not agreed with all...

Venezuela enters an uncertain future with Tuesday's announcement of the death of President Hugo Chávez, who led the country virtually as a one-man show for the past 14 years, using oil money to launch popular spending programs for the poor and putting much of the economy under government control.

Ho hum...another day another commie in Congress.

U.S. officials quickly cast Hugo Chavez's death as an opportunity for America to rebuild a relationship with Venezuela and for the country itself to pursue “meaningful democratic reforms," with President Obama heralding a "new chapter" in the Latin American country's history. Chavez, who had been battling cancer since 2011, died Tuesday after 14 years in power. An election is expected to be held in 30 days – the transition marks one of the first major challenges for newly appointed Secretary of State John Kerry. Obama kept a measured tone in a statement released Tuesday evening. "At this challenging time of...

There is perhaps no worse political disaster for the government of Cuba than the death of President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela. After the Soviet Union collapsed and ceased to subsidize the Castro regime, the government of Cuba went through a very difficult period. That is, until President Chávez picked up the tab. While the real amount of the subsidy is unknown, Venezuela does send more than 115,000 barrels of oil a day to the refinery at Cienfuegos and pays for tens of thousands of Cuban doctors and sports trainers who are deployed all over Latin America. The true amount is...

President Hugo Chavez Has Died

After reiterating that President Hugo Chávez's health is looking grave, Venezuela’s vice president lashed out at the country’s “enemies” and expelled two U.S. diplomats whom he accused of spying on the country’s military. At a press conference on Monday, Vice President Nicolás Maduro also pointed to the U.S. and other foreign countries of somehow poisoning Chávez with cancer. Following a lengthy introduction of numerous officials in attendance, Maduro said U.S. military attaché David Delmonaco will be expelled from the country for conspiring against the government and the armed forces. Foreign Minister Elias Jaua also announced the expulsion of a second...

CARACAS, Venezuela -- A severe new respiratory infection has hit cancer-stricken President Hugo Chavez and his condition is "very delicate," Venezuela's government says.

Hugo Chavez is either dead, or on life support, but the world will remain in the dark for weeks to come. While the above photograph has probably been Photoshopped it has been making its rounds on the internet for the last few weeks. Until we hear from el Comandante himself the rumors will not be silenced, irregardless of what Venezuelan officials would lead us to believe. Government officials are attempting to prepare the country for Chavez to govern from life support, or beyond the grave. In this attempt they may succeed – for a while. Preventing civil war is a...

En contacto con CNN Chile, el ex embajador de Panamá ante la OEA, Guillermo Cochez, afirmó que desde el 30 de diciembre pasado el presidente Chávez fue declarado con muerte cerebral en Cuba, con lo cual regresó a Venezuela en ese estado. Por esta razón, asegura que no fue visitado por los distintos mandatarios y cuestionó la última fotografía que fue publicada de Chávez con sus hijas.

CARACAS—The Venezuelan government Friday released the first images of ailing President Hugo Chávez since his departure more than two months ago to Cuba to resume his battle with cancer. The photos show the smiling president in a blue and white track suit, lying down and flanked by two of his daughters. In one image, he is holding a copy of the Cuba state newspaper Granma, which Venezuelan officials said was the Feb. 14 edition of the publication, apparently to prove that the photos were taken recently. The 58-year-old leader, who announced his battle with cancer in June 2011, appeared to...

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is undergoing "complex" alternative treatments more than two months after having cancer surgery in Cuba, his vice president said on Wednesday. The 58-year-old socialist leader has not been seen in public since he went to Havana for the operation on December 11, his fourth surgery for cancer in 18 months. Vice President Nicolas Maduro did not give details of the alternative treatments the president was receiving. Chavez has never said what type of cancer he is suffering from, and critics accuse the government of excessive secrecy over his condition. "Today our commander is...