CARACAS, VENEZUELA – Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro announced Tuesday that President Hugo Chavez, 58, passed away.
He leaves behind a country he built through charisma and populist rhetoric along with an anti-American message.
Officials announced he died Tuesday afternoon. Chavez was recently hospitalized with a severe respiratory infection, according to his representative.
In a press conference from the hospital where Chavez passed away, Vice President Maduro accused foreign countries of poisoning the president. He also said David Delmonaco, a United States Embassy official, would be expelled from the country.
The country’s Communications Minister said in a statement that the stricken president was “standing by Christ and life, conscious of the difficulties he faces.”
