Hugo Chavez is Dead.

A lot of good people are going to be relieved at this. No news if he received last Rites. He did previously last year, but there’s no indication he had prior to dying now.

So much for Cuban health care.

"Fair and balanced" at Fox:

CARACAS, Venezuela – Some in anguish, some in fear, Venezuelans raced for home on Tuesday after the government announced the death of President Hugo Chavez, the firebrand socialist who led the nation for 14 years.
Vice President Nicolas Maduro's voice broke and tears ran down his face as he appeared on national television to announce that Chavez died at 4:25 p.m. local time 3:55 p.m EST "after battling hard against an illness over nearly two years."
He did not say what exactly killed Chavez, although the government had announced the previous night that a severe new respiratory infection had severely weakened him.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/03/05/venezuelan-president-hugo-chavez-dead-vp-says/#ixzz2MiJ1qTpt

The Telegraph says he was a con man!

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/timstanley/100205533/hugo-chavez-dies-socialists-might-see-him-as-a-saint-but-this-charismatic-conman-was-no-angel/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Wouldn't surprise me if he did. I actually wouldn't be surprised if Castro has a priest at hs deathbed.

If you want a better insight into Chavez please watch the documentary linked below, when you have time, it runs for 1 hour 15 minute. (BTW Chavez is not from Cuba).
It was filmed by the Ireland's national TV network (RTE) in 2002 that happened to be in Venezuela making a documentary about Chavez when they got caught up in a US sponsored coup which briefly deposed Chavez.
This documentary was shown in Ireland and a few other European countries but shortly afterwards disappeared for a long time until YouTube became popular, but it was frequently removed by YouTube over the years. Ironically the title of the documentary was, '"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised". To the best of my knowledge no US network has ever shown this film.
Even if you are not interested in politics just watch it as an 'action movie' with a lot of unexpected twists.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id--ZFtjR5c

Chavez is not our friend.

Why not?

simple Faith wrote:Why not?

Because membership in the Communist Party presupposes atheism, and a hostility to religion in general, but Catholicism in particular.

Chavez was not an atheist; he was a Catholic and died a Catholic. Regarding his cancer he stood in front of an image of Jesus with the Crucifix, and prayed on national television, " If this is necessary, may it be welcome, I ask Jesus, Give me your cross, your crown of thorns so that I may bleed. But give me life, because I have more to do for this country and these people.

Just because he chose to share the wealth from his country's oil with the poor and not let it be taken and controlled by the US does not make him a communist.
If I had a choice between Obama and Chavez controlling a country, I would be voting Chavez

Apparently he did receive the sacraments. It's a curious thing how this seems to happen to even the most hardened of apostates.

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/hugo-chavez-died-in-the-bosom-of-the-church/

Belonging to an organization that considers religion to be the opiate of the masses doesn’t really confer much credibility to the claim that he was a Catholic.

But surely, even a hardened Communist can receive the grace of salvation in his dying moments.

He was, like his other Masonic brethren, pretty steadfastly anti-Catholic during his administration.

Wait, are you saying Chavez isn’t a Communist? Apart from the fact that you’re employing the usual anti-American rhetoric so common in Communist agitprop, I find that pretty incredible.

You seem to believe that, 'American criticism = communism' and that, 'socialism = communism'.

simple Faith wrote:You seem to believe that, 'American criticism = communism' and that, 'socialism = communism'.

You are showing enthusiasm for a man who was a tyrannical Marxist.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/Default.aspx?pageID=238&nID=42428&NewsCatID=359

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad paid tribute to late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez on Wednesday saying he had fallen "martyr" to a "suspect illness".

Ahmadinejad hailed his close ally for "serving the people of Venezuela and defending human and revolutionary values." "He finally died from a suspect illness and he gave his life... to the elevation of his country and the freedom of his people," Ahmadinejad said in a message of condolences to Vice President Nicolas Maduro.

The Iranian president was backing claims made by Maduro shortly before Chavez's death was announced that Venezuela's enemies had somehow afflicted the firebrand leftist with the cancer that eventually killed him.

"I have no doubt that he will return, along with the righteous Jesus and the perfect human." The last was a reference to Shiite Islam's 12th imam that Iran's majority faith believes will return with Christ to bring peace and justice to the world.

EU head hails Chavez's social leadership

European Union head Herman Van Rompuy on Wednesday hailed Venezuela's "stand-out" social development policies, as he sent his condolences following the announcement of the death of President Hugo Chavez.

"Venezuela has stood out for its social development and for its contribution to South America's regional integration," Van Rompuy said in a joint statement with European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso.

"The European Union has received with sadness the news of the passing away of the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez," the two men said.

"Hoping to deepen our relationship in the future, we would like to send our sincere condolences and sympathy to the people and the government of Venezuela," they added.

Chavez a 'great leader and great friend': China

China described the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez as a "great friend of the Chinese people" on Wednesday, promising to maintain ties with the petroleum-rich South American country.

Chavez, known for his leftist policies, sought close relations with Beijing's Communist authorities in a bid to reduce his country's dependence on the United States, and Venezuela now sells some 640,000 barrels of oil a day to China.

In turn, Beijing has extended at least $30 billion in credit to Caracas.



Venezuelans mourn the death of Hugo Chavez
"President Chavez was a great leader of Venezuela as well as a great friend of the Chinese people and has made an important contribution to friendly and cooperative relations between China and Venezuela," foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.

President Hu Jintao and soon-to-be-installed leader Xi Jinping had sent personal messages of condolence to Venezuela's Vice President Nicolas Maduro following the 58-year-old leader's death from cancer, she added.

"Venezuela is an important country in the region and also a good friend of China," she said at a regular briefing in Beijing.

"He was an uncommon and strong man who looked into the future and always set the highest target for himself," Putin said in a telegram of condolence, thanking Chavez for laying the "solid basis" for Russia-Venezuela relations.

Brazil's Rousseff says Chavez death 'irreparable loss'

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said Tuesday that Hugo Chavez's death was "an irreparable loss" and hailed him as a "great Latin American" and "a friend of the Brazilian people." Rousseff led a minute of silence in honor of the dead Venezuelan leader at a meeting in Brasilia, and said she was canceling a trip to Argentina scheduled for Thursday.

Putin hails Chavez as 'uncommon, strong man'

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday hailed his late Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez as an uncommon and strong man who had made a huge contribution to relations between Moscow and Caracas.

Obama: US supports Venezuelan people after Chavez death

President Barack Obama Tuesday said the United States was interested in a "constructive" future relationship with Venezuela after the death of President Hugo Chavez, a long-time American foe.

"As Venezuela begins a new chapter in its history, the United States remains committed to policies that promote democratic principles, the rule of law, and respect for human rights," Obama said in a short written statement.

British foreign minister Hague "saddened" by Chavez death

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said he was "saddened" by the death of Hugo Chavez on Tuesday, saying the Venezuelan President had left a "lasting impression" on his people.

"I was saddened to learn of the death of President Hugo Chavez today," Hague said in a statement issued by the Foreign Office. "As President of Venezuela for 14 years he has left a lasting impression on the country and more widely." The foreign minister offered his condolences to the bereaved Chavez family and to the Venezuelan people.

Chavez lost his battle with cancer on Tuesday, silencing the leading voice of the Latin American left and plunging his divided oil-rich nation into an uncertain future.

Vice President Nicolas Maduro, who struggled to hold back tears as he announced Chavez's death, said the government had deployed the armed forces and police "to accompany and protect our people and guarantee the peace.”

Whilst the US government had a dislike of Chavez that does not mean that the Vatican or the rest of the world held the same opinion.

You can witness the US government's real reason for disliking Chavez at, 27:12 on the video that I linked. George Tenet, Director CIA, said, "Obviously Venezuela is important because they're the third largest supplier of petroleum. I would say that Mr Chavez does not have the interests of the United States at heart"

You might be interested to know that Pope John Paul II ordered Venezuela's clergy to stay out of efforts to topple President Hugo Chavez but Venezuela's church hierarchy defied him, with the encouragement of the administration of then-President George W. Bush, secret documents show. (WikiLeaks).

Vatican diplomat, Giorgio Lingua, believed that Cardinal Archbishop Antonio Ignacio Velasco Garcia of Caracas was perhaps too close to the coup plotters.
This was demonstrated when Cardinal Velasco attended Pedro Carmona's swearing-in ceremony in the presidential palace, Miraflores. Carmona was forced from office two days later, and Chavez returned to power. Carmona was a wealthy owner of several petrochemical companies and one of the coup organisers.
Cardinal Velasco's effective blessing of the illegal coup resulted in tensions between Chavez and the church.

Archbishop Kuriakose Bharanikulangara, (deputy ambassador at the Vatican embassy in Venezuela in 2002) reported that when Pope JPII was made aware of the attempted coup he instructed Bharanikulangara to give Chavez political asylum at the Vatican embassy. However by this stage Chavez and his family were being held at gunpoint and Bharanikulangara with a cardinal and another priest were sent to the presidential palace to be with Chavez. Two priests accompanied Chavez when he was forced out of office and taken from the country.

The citizens, supported by the army, demanded the return of Chavez. Two days later Chavez was back in parliament. Chavez kept his hands on Bharanikulangara's shoulders and said: "He saved my life. I wanted to talk to God that night but it was not possible. So, I spoke to his representative."

In May 2006 Chavez travelled to the Vatican where he met with Pope Benedict XVI.

I’m sure Napoleon’s diplomatic visits to Pius VII were equally a sign of mutual love and respect.