Hugo Chavez: DEAD at 58

President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela died Tuesday afternoon after a long battle with cancer, the government announced, leaving behind a bitterly divided nation in the grip of a political crisis that grew more acute as he languished for weeks, silent and out of sight in hospitals in Havana and Caracas.

His successor is Vice President Nicolas Maduro. Maduro now faces the daunting task of rallying support in a deeply divided country while maintaining unity within his party’s ranks. The mustachioed 50-year-old former bus driver won Chavez’s trust as a loyal spokesman who echoed the president’s stances.

“Our people will never again see the bourgeoisie plundering this country,” Maduro said, adding, “Better to be dead than traitors to the people and to Chavez!”

Read more about Chavez’s successor here.

Read more about Chavez’s death here.