Venezuela

• Sunday, March 10th 2013 - 01:52 UTC

  Venezuela announces snap presidential election for April 14

  

  Venezuela announced Saturday that it will hold a presidential election to succeed late leader Hugo Chavez on April 14 after his political heir took office. The national electoral council set the date one day after Nicolas Maduro, Chavez's handpicked successor, was sworn in as acting president in a ceremony largely boycotted by the opposition, which slammed it as unconstitutional.

• Saturday, March 9th 2013 - 05:57 UTC

  Maduro takes the oath as acting president and candidate for the coming elections

  

  Vice-President Nicolas Maduro was sworn in Friday as acting president of Venezuela in a ceremony held in the National Assembly in Caracas, three days after the death of President Hugo Chavez. He immediately asked the Electoral branch to decide on an election date.

• Saturday, March 9th 2013 - 05:30 UTC

  Iran’s Ahmadinejad received a standing ovation at Chavez emotional funeral

  

  Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Cuba's Raul Castro joined on Friday about thirty other heads of state at Hugo Chávez's funeral in an emotional farewell to the charismatic Venezuelan leader who during his fourteen years in office had a major impact on South American politics.

• Saturday, March 9th 2013 - 05:20 UTC

  Mujica tells Venezuelans that big contradictions in society are ‘not squashed but conducted’

  

  Uruguayan president Jose Mujica called for unity and responsibility in Venezuela, ‘to fight for freedom and peace’ and cautioned that big contradictions in a society are not squashed but conducted. He also called on Brazil to lead the region but warned: “not creating a new regional empire”.

• Friday, March 8th 2013 - 08:13 UTC

  Emotional Cristina Fernandez back in Argentina misses Chavez funeral ceremony

  

  As world leaders were arriving at Caracas late Thursday for Friday’s funeral ceremony of President Hugo Chavez, Argentine president Cristina Fernandez and her delegation were back in Buenos Aires. The Argentine president visited the Military Hospital’s chapel Thursday noon for a final goodbye to the Venezuelan leader and then ordered the flight back to Buenos Aires.

• Friday, March 8th 2013 - 07:35 UTC

  Chavez to be embalmed ‘for eternity’; Maduro takes the oath as ‘acting’ president

  

  Venezuela's Hugo Chavez will be embalmed and put on display “for eternity” at a military museum after the state funeral and an extended period of lying in state, acting President Nicolas Maduro said on Thursday.

• Friday, March 8th 2013 - 07:22 UTC

  Iranian president will attend Chavez funeral ceremony on Friday

  

  Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is expected in Caracas early Friday on time to pay tribute to his late Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo Chavez, who died earlier this week after a two-year battle with cancer. Ahmadinejad left Tehran for Caracas on Thursday.

• Thursday, March 7th 2013 - 23:52 UTC

  Mujica calls for a “sensible attitude” from the US given the political situation in Venezuela

  

  Uruguayan president called for a “sensible attitude” from the United States given the new political situation in Venezuela following the death of leader Hugo Chavez and was also optimistic about the future of the country in the post Chavez era.

• Thursday, March 7th 2013 - 23:29 UTC

  Back in 1994 when Chavez visited Uruguay, “the current ruling coalition did not take him seriously”

  

  Uruguayan former president Jorge Batlle recalled in his Facebook column that when a still unknown Hugo Chavez visited Uruguay back in 1994, the now left-leaning ruling coalition didn’t take him seriously and the leader of the movement at the time General Liber Seregni did not receive him.

• Thursday, March 7th 2013 - 22:48 UTC

  Cristina Fernandez the only leader allowed to visit Chavez in hospital, but declined

  

  Argentine president Cristina Fernandez was the only leader given the option of visiting the ailing Hugo Chavez in hospital but declined, according to Venezuelan independent journalist Nelson Bocaranda who was the first to make public the news, 19 months ago, that the charismatic leader was suffering cancer.