President Hugo Chavez, R.I.P.
Tim King Salem-News.com-Mar-05-2013
The world bids farewell to a man who stood up for Venezuela.
Hugo Chavez
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(SACRAMENTO, CA) - The President of Venezuela, Hugo Rafael Chávez Frias, has died from cancer at the age of 58 after a long-running battle to regain his health. This follower of Simon Bolivar's politics of liberty nationalized his country's oil and used the profits to rebuild the infrastructure of his nation.
Viktor Yushchenko before & after
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He was the first to ever do so and his courage and bearing outsmarted even the staunchest opponents. Sadly many Venezuelans believe that President Hugo Chavez's illness was the result of a plot against him, that it was induced and unnatural. While U.S. government officials scoff at the notion, it is something that has happened to political leaders throughout history.
A modern example would be Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko who narrowly survived after being poisoned in 2004. Our resident Forensic Toxicologist (try finding another media group with one on their staff!) Dr. Phillip Leveque, states that there are several different methods used to poison people which are virtually undetectable.
Nicolas Macuro
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While announcing the death of his President, Nicolas Maduro spoke of a plot against Venezuela, saying he had no doubt that Mr Chavez's cancer, first diagnosed in 2011, had been induced by foul play by Venezuela's enemies, The BBC reports.
He said a scientific commission could one day reveal whether Mr Chavez's illness was brought about by what he called an enemy attack. Struggling to hold back tears, Mr Maduro called on the nation to close ranks after their leader's demise.
Right-wing destabilisation plans
Venezuelanalysis.com reports that Vice-President Nicolas Maduro today denounced destabilisation plans by the international and Venezuelan right wing, announcing the expulsion of two US officials for threatening military security. He also implied that Chavez’s cancer was “caused by enemies of Venezuela”.
Maduro made the announcement today just after midday, following a meeting this morning with Venezuela's political military leadership. Maduro pronounced the expulsion of Air Attaché David Delmonaco, and assistant Air Attaché Devlin Costal of the US embassy in Caracas for being implicated in “conspiracy plans”. “They have 24 hours to pack their bags and leave,” Maduro said.
Hugo Chavez is one of the few men who as a political leader, dared to criticize former U.S. President George W. Bush for his warmongering nation's huge list of mistakes. He believed Bush was unfit and that his actions were evil and wrong. About a million and a half dead Iraqis would certainly agree, if they could.
As we reported Sep-20-2006 in Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Calls George W. Bush The Devil: White House Silent:
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The White House is not commenting today over Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's statement that U.S. President George "W" Bush is being a "devil" with imperialist ambitions.
"Yesterday, the president of the US, the gentleman who I refer to as 'the devil' came here, talking to the world as if he owns the world," Chavez said.
The speech by Chavez was made at the U-N. Many comments Chavez made were considered "heated" by the Bush administration.
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| From: Why Washington Hates Hugo Chavez Jan-05-2011
In late November, Venezuela was hammered by torrential rains and flooding that left 35 people dead and roughly 130,000 homeless. If George Bush had been president, instead of Hugo Chavez, the displaced people would have been shunted off at gunpoint to makeshift prison camps--like the Superdome--as they were following Hurricane Katrina. But that's not the way that Chavez works.
The Venezuelan president quickly passed "enabling laws" which gave him special powers to provide emergency aid and housing to flood victims. Chavez then cleared out the presidential palace and turned it into living quarters for 60 people, which is the equivalent of turning the White House into a homeless shelter. The disaster victims are now being fed and taken care of by the state until they can get back on their feet and return to work.
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Even if he despised Bush, Hugo Chavez cared about the struggling American poor and our shrinking economy, as we reported on 12 February 2013 in:Venezuela Donates Free Heating Oil to 100,000 Needy US Households.
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The CITGO-Venezuela Heating Oil Program has helped more than 1.7 million Americans in 25 states and the District of Columbia keep warm since it was launched back in 2005. A nonprofit organization founded by former US Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II, it always had the support of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.
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The first country to step up to the plate and offer aid and assistance in the wake of their devastating 2010 earthquake, was Venezuela.
Loved by the poor and hated by the rich, President Hugo Chavez led his people to a new day and implemented a long list of public services to aid the most vulnerable residents of Venezuela.
His politics endeared him to leaders of nations all over the world that lean toward progressive socialism and democracy. This is a man who did it his way and any who say he was not widely admired and respected by all but the richest and most right-wing Venezuelans, is simply mistaken.
He was the victim of a coup d'état orchestrated and carried out by the CIA and FOX News, no that is not a misprint. Simply watch the program to the right, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised - Chavez: Inside the CoupPerhaps it is the only time in history that a president was forced out of office, and then forced back in when the people of a capital city, Caracas in this case, literally came out of the woodwork by the million, overwhelming the anti-Chavez demonstrators, and demanded their president back, and he came back. An Irish film crew happened to be shooting a documentary when the coup happened and they recorded every vital minute, honestly it is one of the best documenaries ever produced.
Mr Chavez had been battling cancer over the past year. He has undergone several operations in Cuba, and has not made public appearances for several months.
The news of the passing of President Chavez was announced by Nicolas Maduro today, as he stood flanked by military and political leaders. It had been reported that Mr. Chavez had a severe respiratory infection and had entered "his most difficult hours".
In Tuesday evening's emotional address, a tearful Mr Maduro said Mr Chavez had died at 16:25 (17:55 GMT) "after battling a tough illness for nearly two years".
Special thanks to The BBC
