LAST PHOTO: Hugo Chavez, flanked by daughters Maria Gabriela (left) and Rosa Virginia, died yesterday. His allies pinned his cancer on the US. (AP)
LAST PHOTO: Hugo Chavez, flanked by daughters Maria Gabriela (left) and Rosa Virginia, died yesterday. His allies pinned his cancer on the US. (AP)
Hugo Chavez, the blowhard self-styled “subversive” president of Venezuela, died yesterday — hours after his handpicked vice president hinted he had been fatally infected with cancer by the United States.
Vice President Nicolas Maduro’s voice broke and tears ran down his face as he appeared on television to announce Chavez had succumbed “after battling tough with an illness over nearly two years.”
Maduro didn’t say what killed the fiery 58-year-old Chavez.
But earlier yesterday, he declared that the leftist government would form a commission that would reveal “scientific proof” that Chavez “was attacked with the disease.”
“The old enemies of our fatherland looked for a way to harm his health,” Maduro said, echoing Chavez’s bizarre suggestion in 2011 that the United States had created cancer-inducing technology to kill him.
Chavez never revealed the severity of his cancer, which was discovered in his pelvic region, and said little about his four operations and other treatments.
But late Monday, his government hinted at how close he was to death when it said his condition was “very delicate.”
As late as yesterday morning, officials in Caracas said they were treating Chavez with “high-impact” chemotherapy.
Before announcing the leader’s death at 4:25 p.m., Maduro went on state TV to lash out at the United States and claim Washington was orchestrating plots to exploit the national chaos.
“Behind all of them are the enemies of the fatherland,” Maduro said, adding that the government was combating sabotage against the country’s electrical grid and conspiracies to harm the economy.
After Chavez’s death was announced, shops and restaurants in the capital shut down and Venezuelans raced to get home.
The Caracas government had booted two US military officials hours earlier. Officials gave Col. David Delmonico and a second unidentified Air Force member attached to the US Embassy 24 hours to leave the country.
Caracas officials said the two had approached members of the Venezuelan military and tried to recruit them into plans to “destabilize” the oil-rich South American nation. Officials in Washington rejected that accusation.
President Obama said Chavez’s death opened “a new chapter” for relations between Washington and Caracas.
“The United States reaffirms its support for the Venezuelan people and its interest in developing a constructive relationship with the Venezuelan government,” he said.
Chavez, a darling among Hollywood’s lefty elite, was mourned by controversial director Oliver Stone, who hailed him as “a great hero.’’
Actor Sean Penn added, “I lost a friend.’’
And Chavez had at least one fan in the US government. Rep. José Serrano (D-Bronx) tweeted, “Hugo Chavez was a leader that understood the needs of the poor. He was committed to empowering the powerless. R.I.P. Mr. President.”
Repairing relations between the US and Venezuela should be easier with the death of Chavez, who famously called President George W. Bush “the devil.”
After Obama’s election, Chavez said to him, “I want to be your friend.” But two years later, Chavez announced, “You are a fraud, Obama.”
Chavez’s death leaves Venezuela with an uncertain political future.
Maduro, a 50-year-old former bus driver, will likely face off against opposition candidate Henrique Capriles, who was defeated by Chavez last fall.
At stake is whether Venezuela will continue along its socialist path with a nationalized oil industry or return to a free market.