Another 7 Days of Mourning in Venezuela, State Funeral Held Friday

Local Editor

A state funeral is to be held Friday for late Venezuelan leader, Hugo Chavez, as the Vice President announced that another seven days of mourning were decided. VP Nicolas Maduro, who is the country’s acting President, declared seven additional days of mourning on Thursday. The South American nation has already been in a seven-day mourning in the wake of the death of Chavez, who passed away on Tuesday after a long battle with cancer. Maduro said that the body of the former president would be embalmed "like Lenin", the Russian revolutionary leader, and would be displayed in a glass coffin for an extra week at a military museum in Caracas after a state funeral, Agence France Presse reported. The VP said the decision to have the president lie in state for another seven days was taken to allow Venezuelans who are waiting in long lines to be able to pay their respects to the late president. More than two million mourners have already filed past Chavez’s body at the military academy in Caracas, where he is lying in state. Venezuelan officials said that up to 55 world leaders will attend the state funeral of President Hugo Chavez on Friday, including US bugbears Cuba, Iran and Belarus. Maduro said heads of state or government from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean have confirmed their attendance for the Caracas military academy ceremony at 15:30 GMT. Chavez' closest ally, Cuban President Raul Castro, was the latest leader to arrive in Caracas on Thursday to pay tribute to the socialist leader. He will be followed later in the evening by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Belarussian strongman Alexander Lukashenko.

Source: Agencies 08-03-2013 - 10:59 Last updated 08-03-2013 - 12:38

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