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Raul Castro and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto were among the political leaders who also traveled to Caracas to say good-bye to the former Venezuelan president.
Reuters
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pays tribute to late Venezuelan
President Hugo Chavez, during the funeral service at the Military
Academy in Caracas.
Venezuela's polarizing president Hugo Chavez was laid to rest with a
raucous, rally-like funeral Friday that was attended by Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, civil rights leader Jesse Jackson and
Oscar winner Sean Penn.
Ahmadinejad got a standing ovation as he approached Chavez' casket during the massive memorial that included a U.S. delegation led by Queens Congressman Gregory Meeks.
Left-wing leaders from around the world watched Ahmadinejad kiss the
flag-draped coffin and pump his fist in the air inside the military
academy, where the bold and bellicose socialist leader has been lying in
state following his death from cancer March 5.
"Viva Chavez!" the announcer and crowd chanted as Ahmadinejad, 56, returned to his seat.
Cameras inside the carnival-like service captured Penn, 52, standing and clapping at times wearing a dark suit and tie.
RELATED: HUGO CHAVEZ REMAINS WERE NOT IN COFFIN DURING PARADE
"Today a great nation mourns," Jackson said as an interpreter repeated
his address for the rapt crowd. "How do we measure a great leader? By
how he treats the least of these. Hugo fed the hungry. He lifted the
poor. He raised their hopes."
Jackson, 71, prayed for Chavez to find "acceptance" and "mercy" in heaven and told the crowd that "Venezuela is not alone," despite its tepid relationship with the U.S.
He said the U.S. and Venezuela share a hemisphere, resources, a love of sports and dreams — and
he called on the countries to "heal the breach" that garnered worldwide
fame when Chavez called President Bush an imperialist "devil" during a
2006 speech at the United Nations.
"We pray the presidents of our great nations will meet soon and find common ground," Jackson said. "While it may be politically difficult, it's the morally right thing to do."
Famed conductor Gustavo Dudamel led an orchestral rendition of the
national anthem and joined several athletes for one of several honor
guards at Chavez's coffin.
RELATED: CHAVEZ'S BODY TO BE PERSERVED AND PERMANENTLY DISPLAYED
Cuban leader Raul Castro, Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko and
heads of state from Mexico, Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua also mourned
the former paratrooper who spent 14 years at Venezuela's helm.
"I lost a friend I was blessed to have, and poor people around the world lost a champion," Penn said in a statement before the televised funeral.
"It is a great pain for us because we have lost a friend," Ahmadinejad
said upon his arrival at the airport overnight. "I feel like I have lost
myself, but I am sure that he still lives. Chavez will never die. His
spirit and soul live on in each of our hearts."
Before the service started late on Friday, the line to see Chavez's body stretched 1 ½ miles outside the academy.
Government officials handed out water as news spread that the viewing will continue indefinitely.
RELATED: IRANIAN PRESIDENT TO ATTEND CHAVEZ FUNERAL
Just like his historic leftist predecessors Vladimir Lenin and Ho Chi
Minh, Chavez, 58, will be embalmed and put on display in a crystal
casket, the country's interim President Nicolas Maduro said. The body
will be on display at the Museum of the Revolution near the presidential
palace in Caracas, the hand-picked successor said.
Chavez was particularly beloved by the poor, but critics say he leaves behind a legacy of high inflation, towering public debt, a breakdown of the country's oil infrastructure and increased crime.
An opposition coalition announced it would boycott Maduro's swearing in Friday on the grounds it was unconstitutional.
The constitution bars sitting vice presidents from running for the top job, but Venezuela's Supreme Court rule Friday that Maduro became acting president upon Chavez's death.
"Here we are, Comandante, your men, on their feet ... loyal until beyond death," Maduro shouted in his emotional eulogy.
RELATED: LATIN AMERICA CHANGED BY THE ‘BIG GUY’ HUGO CHAVEZ
"My deepest sympathies go out ot the family of President Chavez and the people of Venezuela. Venezuela is an important nation to the Western Hemisphere. I remain committed to building the relationship between our nations," Rep. Meeks said in a statment.
"This is historic ... I have never seen anything like it," Edila Ojeda, a 57-year-old Venezuelan janitor, told the Associated Press. "He was a world leader recognized internationally. I am speechless. It is impressive."
Other regular citizens were less enthusiastic.
"He was a president, and I would say not a good one. Not a hero," Gloria Ocampos, a retired office manager said. "He should be buried, just like any other president. They are treating him like he was the father of the country ... It's crazy."
With News Wire Services
Ahmadinejad got a standing ovation as he approached Chavez' casket during the massive memorial that included a U.S. delegation led by Queens Congressman Gregory Meeks.
Reuters
American civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. talks with actor Sean Penn during the funeral for Venezuela's late President Hugo Chavez.
"Viva Chavez!" the announcer and crowd chanted as Ahmadinejad, 56, returned to his seat.
HO/AFP/Getty Images
Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro observes the coffin of late Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez as a supporter weeps. Maduro was sworn in as interim president.
RELATED: HUGO CHAVEZ REMAINS WERE NOT IN COFFIN DURING PARADE
HANDOUT/REUTERS
Cuba's President Raul Castro salutes the body of his close ally, the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, as his body lay in state.
Jackson, 71, prayed for Chavez to find "acceptance" and "mercy" in heaven and told the crowd that "Venezuela is not alone," despite its tepid relationship with the U.S.
Carlos Garcia Rawlins/REUTERS
A supporter of Venezuela's late President Hugo Chavez stands next to a portrait of the former leader. Chavez will be embalmed and put on display "for eternity" at a military museum.
"We pray the presidents of our great nations will meet soon and find common ground," Jackson said. "While it may be politically difficult, it's the morally right thing to do."
STR/AFP/Getty Images
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad waves outside of the funeral. 'I feel like I have lost myself, but I am sure that he still lives. Chavez will never die. His spirit and soul live on in each of our hearts,' Ahmadinejad said.
RELATED: CHAVEZ'S BODY TO BE PERSERVED AND PERMANENTLY DISPLAYED
EPA
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo (C) pay tribute to late Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, next to Vice president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, at the Military Academy in Caracas.
"I lost a friend I was blessed to have, and poor people around the world lost a champion," Penn said in a statement before the televised funeral.
@GregoryMeeks
Rep. Gregory W. Meeks, D-N.Y tweets a message indicating his intent on attending President Chavez's funeral.
Before the service started late on Friday, the line to see Chavez's body stretched 1 ½ miles outside the academy.
EPA
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto attends the State funeral of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at the Military Academy in Caracas. Some thirty heads of state and government from around the world attended the funeral.
RELATED: IRANIAN PRESIDENT TO ATTEND CHAVEZ FUNERAL
Carlos Garcia Rawlins/REUTERS
A supporter of Chavez waits for a chance to view his body lying in state at the military academy in Caracas.
Chavez was particularly beloved by the poor, but critics say he leaves behind a legacy of high inflation, towering public debt, a breakdown of the country's oil infrastructure and increased crime.
An opposition coalition announced it would boycott Maduro's swearing in Friday on the grounds it was unconstitutional.
The constitution bars sitting vice presidents from running for the top job, but Venezuela's Supreme Court rule Friday that Maduro became acting president upon Chavez's death.
"Here we are, Comandante, your men, on their feet ... loyal until beyond death," Maduro shouted in his emotional eulogy.
RELATED: LATIN AMERICA CHANGED BY THE ‘BIG GUY’ HUGO CHAVEZ
"My deepest sympathies go out ot the family of President Chavez and the people of Venezuela. Venezuela is an important nation to the Western Hemisphere. I remain committed to building the relationship between our nations," Rep. Meeks said in a statment.
"This is historic ... I have never seen anything like it," Edila Ojeda, a 57-year-old Venezuelan janitor, told the Associated Press. "He was a world leader recognized internationally. I am speechless. It is impressive."
Other regular citizens were less enthusiastic.
"He was a president, and I would say not a good one. Not a hero," Gloria Ocampos, a retired office manager said. "He should be buried, just like any other president. They are treating him like he was the father of the country ... It's crazy."
With News Wire Services
Posted in: World news
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