A mix of sorrow, self-interest and dread took hold of Cuba as word spread like wildfire that Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, who had done so much for the country, was dead. While the official newscast devoted its entire program to events unfolding in Caracas, the government reaction was slow in coming.
President Barack Obama said within hours of the death of President Hugo Chavez Tuesday that the United States was interested in a “constructive” future relationship with Venezuela.
The Venezuelan government declared seven days of national mourning and suspended classes until next Friday as it organizes the funeral of President Hugo Chavez that is scheduled to take place at the Military Academy, where he will lie in state beginning Wednesday morning.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos regretted the loss of Hugo Chavez and attributed the advances in the peace process of his government with the FARC Marxist guerrillas (Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces) to the deceased Venezuelan leader.
Venezuelan Vice-President Nicolás Maduro announced during a nation-wide transmission that President Hugo Chávez “has died today at 4:25pm.”
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is suffering from a “new and severe” infection that has worsened his breathing as he undergoes intensive chemotherapy, the government said late Monday.
Bolivian president, Evo Morales, says his Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías, is in stable conditions but still suffering from relapses in his recovery from a fourth round of surgery for cancer. Morales couldn't meet with Chavez but said doctors and relatives of Chávez informed him about his current condition.
Opposition leader Henrique Capriles accused Venezuela’s government on Friday of repeatedly lying about President Hugo Chavez’s condition, and said the truth will be known within days.
Venezuelans got the first glimpse in more than two months of their ailing president Friday in a series of photos the government released in a televised announcement. In the photos, Hugo Chavez is lying on a blue pillow, flanked by his two daughters, while he reads the Cuban official newspaper Granma. He is smiling, and his face looks a little swollen.
The International Monetary Fund, IMF, praised Venezuela for the recent devaluation of its currency saying it is a positive attempt to reduce macroeconomic misbalances but also called on the government of President Hugo Chavez to continue eliminating the exchange rate distortions.