Hugo Chavez died Tuesday afternoon

Hugo Chávez the President of Venezuela died Tuesday afternoon. after difficult with melanoma, the govt declared, making behind a bitterly separated country in the hold of a governmental problems that increased more serious as he languished for several weeks, quiet and out of vision, in medical centers in Havana and Caracas.

Close to holes and his speech breaking, Vice Chief executive Nicolás Maduro said he and other authorities had gone to the army medical center where Mr. Chávez was being handled, sequestered from the community, when “we obtained the toughest and most terrible details that we could transfer to our individuals.”

In short order, law enforcement and military were extremely noticeable as individuals ran through the roads, contacting family members on mobile phones, hurrying to get home. Caracas, the investment, which had just obtained information that the govt was tossing out two United states army attachés it charged of planting problem, easily became an tremendous visitors jam. Shops and purchasing centers suddenly shut.

As night dropped, sad crowds of people congregated in the primary rectangle of Caracas and at the army medical center, with men and ladies weeping freely in unhappiness and worry about what would come next.

In one community, Chávez followers set flame to camp tents and beds used by individuals who had chained themselves together in demonstration several days previously to need more details about Mr. Chávez’s situation.


“Are you happy now?” the Chávez supporters shouted as they ran through the streets with sticks. “Chávez is dead! You got what you wanted!”

Mr. Chávez’s departure from a country he dominated for 14 years casts into doubt the future of his socialist revolution. It alters the political balance not only in Venezuela, the fourth-largest supplier of foreign oil to the United States, but also in Latin America, where Mr. Chávez led a group of nations intent on reducing American influence in the region.

Mr. Chávez, 58, changed Venezuela in fundamental ways, empowering and energizing millions of poor people who had felt marginalized and excluded. But his rule also widened society’s divisions, and his death is sure to bring vast uncertainty as the nation tries to find its way without its central figure.

“He’s the best president in history,” said Andrés Mejía, 65, a retiree in Cumaná, an eastern city, crying as he gathered with friends in a plaza. “Look at how emotional I am — I’m crying. I cannot accept the president’s death. But the revolution will continue with Maduro.”