Death and funeral of Hugo Chávez

death and state funeral of Hugo Chávez

Hugo Chávez, the President of Venezuela, died on 5 March 2013. He was 58 years old. Because of his death, the Venezuelan constitution required an election for a new president to be held within 30 days. Vice President Nicolás Maduro became temporary president. On 14 April, he was officially elected.[1][2]

The funeral procession

Chávez' funeral was held on 8 March. Maduro originally said that Chávez' body would be embalmed and permanently displayed in a glass coffin at a military museum.[3][4] However, on 13 March Maduro announced that this would not happen. This was because the government could not get prepared in the short time that had passed.[5] Maduro extended the National Mourning for four days more, to eleven days. By the end of this, Chávez' body was moved to the Museum of the Revolution at Fort Montana. This had been where Chávez had tried to overthrow the government in 1992.[6]

Chávez's body was never embalmed. He was buried at a cemetery in Venezuela.

References change

  1. "Nicolas Maduro Elected President", from Sky News
  2. "FOREIGN MINISTER: VP MADURO IS INTERIM PRESIDENT". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  3. "Maduro: Chavez body to be permanently displayed". NBC News. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  4. "Hugo Chávez's body to be embalmed and displayed 'eternally'". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  5. "Venezuela says embalming of Chavez' body 'unlikely'". BBC News. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  6. "Venezuela extiende duelo nacional por muerte de Comandante Chávez". teleSUR-TSJ/MM (in Spanish). 13 March 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2013.