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‘Kindness, Bravery….Dedication’: Here’s How Some Not-So-Surprising People Are Mourning Hugo Chavez’s Death

Mar. 6, 2013 8:57am Erica Ritz

Heres How Hugo Chavez Death is Being Mourned in America and Around the World

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez looks towards a crowd of supporters during a ceremony marking Simon Bolivar’s 219th birthday, in Caracas 24 July, 2002. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

News of longtime Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez’ death reached the world Tuesday, prompting a wave of remorse from world leaders, international socialists, Hollywood icons, and the U.S. media.

The Islamic Republic of Iran declared a national day of mourning for the passing of a ruler whose name, in the words of the country’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, “is a reminder of cleanliness and kindness, bravery…dedication and tireless efforts to serve the people, especially the poor and those scarred by colonialism and imperialism.”

One of the Russian Communist politicians, Viktor Anpilov signs a condolence book near a portrait of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at the Venezuela’s embassy in Moscow on March 6, 2013. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

A top leader of the Fatah movement in Palestine– which has received billions of dollars from the United States in foreign assistance– said of Chavez: “Palestine says goodbye to a loyal friend who passionately defended our right to freedom and self determination…His contribution to the cause of dignity had no borders and reached the hearts and minds of the Arab world.”

Chavez is well-remembered for calling former U.S. President George W. Bush the devil during a United Nations speech, and back in America, filmmaker Michael Moore reflected on the time he met the Venezuelan despot:

(Photo: Twitter/@mmflint)

Other actors and Hollywood types soon followed suit.

Sean Penn, whose close relationship with the anti-American revolutionary was often questioned, said in a statement: “…the people of the United States lost a friend it never knew it had. And poor people around the world lost a champion. I lost a friend I was blessed to have. My thoughts are with the family of President Chavez and the people of Venezuela.”

Oliver Stone added, “I mourn a great hero to the majority of his people and those who struggle throughout the world for a place…Hated by the entrenched classes, Hugo Chavez will live forever in history. My friend, rest finally in a peace long earned.”

Others, like Roseanne Barr and recording artist M.I.A., simply tweeted something along the lines of “R.I.P.”

Former US President Jimmy Carter is greeted by Venezuelan presidential candidate and author of a failed 1992 attempt Hugo Chavez Frias in Caracas 03 November, 1998. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

While President Obama’s official response stopped short of praising the Venezuelan leader, at least one U.S. Representative heaped praise on the man, calling him “committed to empowering the powerless.”

Noting that he did not always agree with his “methods,” former U.S. President Jimmy Carter added in the same vein: “President Chávez will be remembered for his bold assertion of autonomy and independence…We hope that as Venezuelans mourn the passing of President Chávez and recall his positive legacies — especially the gains made for the poor and vulnerable — the political leaders will move the country forward…”

Here’s United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon’s reaction, via CNN:

Last but not least, Breitbart’s Ben Shapiro aggregated reactions from a variety of U.S. media outlets:

…The Associated Press ran a fawning obit for the authoritarian, leading with the droolingly ugly line, “President Hugo Chavez was a fighter.” Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post sounded off to call Chavez, “quick,” “popular,” and funny. Larry King, formerly of CNN, called in to say that Chavez was “effusive,” “huggable,” and “larger than life.”

The Atlantic wrote, presumably while weeping openly, “Passionate and charismatic, Chávez slipped comfortably into the role of romantic Latin American revolutionary, championing the poor against an unfeeling local oligarchy and its imperial paymasters….Today millions of Venezuelans will weep tears of genuine anguish at his passing.” Foreign Policy magazine ran an op-ed calling Chavez “another heroic martyr in the vein of Guevara or Chile’s Salvador Allende,” stating that Chavez might even reach “Bolivarian proportions.”

[...]

Bloomberg TV’s obituary sounded like it was written by Chavez’s press agent: “He rode a wave of revolution into power, and over 14 years would transform his country’s place on the world stage …. It was oil revenues that allowed Chavez to pour money into food and education programs in Venezuela.” [Emphasis added]

This post has been updated.

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Comments (76)

zoro51
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:15am
ALL SOCIALISTS ARE NOT KIND believe thier LIES DECITE n you will PAY the price of thier AGENDA.. IMPEACH OBAMA NOW END AMERICAS RAPE

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- Maji
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 12:53pm
  Notice all the people in those photos above would blend
  right in a “star wars” bar scene.
  
  Report this comment
- katzkiner
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 1:31pm
  Funny, Chavez was an army officer, his estate is valued over $2 billion. Must be a real role model for AliOBama and the 545 thieves in Washington DC. Something for government thieves worldwide to aspire too.
  
  Report this comment
Briggston
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:15am
ding dong the losers gone.Give Hitler, Mao, Stalin, Lucifer my regards you communist piece of slime

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- Chuck Stein
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:57am
  Don’t forget Che Guevarra.
  
  Report this comment
elosogrande
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:13am
Hey! What else would you expect from Carter? He’s the same dolt who brokered the deal to give North Korea what they needed to produce nuclear weapons.

Who can you help, if you can’t help your communist brethren?

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thegreatcarnac
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:00am
Well……hugo is meeting Lucifer face to face about now; and probably not liking it.

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paulwbrown
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:48am
Sean Penn must be in mourning for his good bud.

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- turkey13
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:11am
  Penn should have also mentioned that Hugo was so loved by his people that he won all his elections by 100%. Other great leaders that also won their elections by 100% were, Hitler, Stalin, &Fidel.
  
  Report this comment
barber2
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:37am
So who is Obama sending to the funeral ?! Must be hard for our Chicago radicals not to do so…

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- txannie
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:01am
  Obaba is going to cancel his trip to Israel and attend himself…watch and see….can’t help but hope I’m wrong, but looks like it right now…
  
  Report this comment
barber2
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:36am
Now remember everyone, John Kerry said that in America you have the right to be stupid ! These Chavez lovers sure prove that statement….

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- naughtycal
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:10am
  Those radicals look at Hugo as a hero for his quote unquote message. Not one of them would have survived a month living among the impoverished that suffred under chevas rule. If they spoke out they would just vanish or literally get gunned down by Hugos SS
  
  Report this comment
barber2
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:34am
Maybe the anti-Christ is just all of these forms of Big Brother , totalitarian governments which defile the dignity and the innate rights of the individual . Free will ? No . Big Brother.

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RedDirtTexas
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:34am
And the poor and downtrodden he used to achieve power are no better off after he took over. He illegally suspended the legislature and rewrote their constitution. He took over industries including some significant American oil company’s assets there disregarding contracts with his government. The low information poor and downtrodden of this country have brought America a socialist of the same stripe! Meet the real devil Hugo!

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lynnissmart
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:27am
Hey Jimmy – you lowlife moron…..go live in North Korea!

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progressiveslayer
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:27am
Off to hell you go Hugo where Satan will ride your rump for eternity.

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- Apple Bite
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:04am
  With a -50 grit sand paper condom….
  
  Report this comment
SpankDaMonkey
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:27am
.
I wish Obama was more like Hugo…..

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- Tom21773
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:32am
  You mean a commie dictator, right? :)
  
  Report this comment
- dublinthewagons
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:33am
  Sank. Amen
  
  Report this comment
- barber2
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:39am
  SPANK: Does your comment have to do with a verb tense ?!
  
  Report this comment
- thegreatcarnac
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:58am
  lol……..
  
  Report this comment
- scootervanneuter
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:35am
  He IS more like Hugo.
  Like his socialist/commie counterpart, his country is worse off in almost every way than it was when he took office.
  He hates private enterprise.
  He’s a self-centered narcissist and serial liar who appeals to the poor while living like a monarch.
  
  He is very much like Hugo (and Fidel, etc) and that’s the problem.
  
  Report this comment
hauschild
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:21am
Deader than a door nail.

Figured the fascists would have “Weekend at Bernie’s” him, so that surprises me somewhat.

One fascist kicks the bucket, but there’s plenty to take his place.

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- Fubared
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:02am
  Oh yeah, bring in the next union toad with more ties to Castro. Maybe the peeps will grow tired of the same tired crap.
  
  Report this comment
Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:18am
Of course the progressives and socialists will mourn the passage of another Socialist tyrannical dictator who sought to impose his insane view of the world on everyone.

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MCON29
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:18am
Bolivian leader?

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- jman-6
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:35am
  Should read Bolivarian.
  
  Report this comment
- DZ-015
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:56am
  Obama will be sending Jokin’ Joe Biden to Bolivia for Chavez’s funeral.
  
  Report this comment
- Mike76
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:07am
  On Glenn Beck’s map, Bolivia and Venezuela must be the same place.
  
  Report this comment
boarslayer
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:15am
Wow, is it any suprise that a former crappy president champions the cause of a wretched man. When will treason be enforced?

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- Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:20am
  I keep asking that.
  
  Report this comment
- hauschild
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:24am
  These people prefer an ideology over America.
  
  It’s really sad when people like this hillbilly allow themselves to become so apathetic and selfish that something as simple, powerful, productive and effective as the American Experiment completely escapes them.
  
  Report this comment
Dushman Kush
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:14am
President Chavez, Rest in Peace. You have been admired by many, many millions around the world. Long Live the Communist International !!!

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- barber2
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:22am
  Yes. The Communist International has lived long. Now Occupying our White House .
  
  Report this comment
- Fubared
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:04am
  Dishsman, news flash, chavez is deader than he was yesterday. But hey, better dead than red right?
  
  Report this comment
barber2
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:13am
Just another arrogant, hate-filled, tin-pot dictator who never learned ” Thou Shalt Not Steal.” These guys just re-brand it ” redistribution ” and let Big Brother perform the stealing by changing the definition to ” social justice .” Sound familiar ? Our Obama radicals are members of the same church of Big Brother . All based on lies , distortions, and distractions. Our new radicals : you are arrogant enough to believe that THEY are going to right history’s wrongs – by stealing in the name of ” justice.”

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Displacedsoutherner
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:08am
Like most of the lib agenda, Chavez’ policies are suitable for praise by the Left only from a distance and only when imposed on someone else. Not one of the lib jackasses would consider living under a Chavez type government for a minute, but they sure like to pretend they would; their proper role is as one of the ruling and thereby exempt elite. To control others but never to be controlled BY others.

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- G-WHIZ
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:19am
  Would like to strip them of all ties to our U.S.A. INCLUDING CLOTHES…and “back-send them” to N. Korea or Cuba as PEONS!!
  
  Report this comment
Yama
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:07am
Evo Morales will be surprised to hear that Hugo Chavez was the leader of Bolivia. Regardless, I am happy that Chavez is now rotting in hell where he belongs. Too bad he couldn’t take Jimmy Carter, Sean Penn and Michael Moore with him…

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biohazard23
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:06am
Satan left a seat open for the pig. Rot in h3ll, you fat b@st*rd.

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- Gonzo
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:13am
  Tell us how you really feel Bio!
  
  Report this comment
- biohazard23
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:31am
  heh heh heh…. :)
  
  Report this comment
Gonzo
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:06am
Let’s hope the Venezuelan people are smarter about their next leader than America was.

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- dublinthewagons
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:30am
  Gonzo: is Obama campaigning for that job too. If so can we text a vote for him from ree Obama cell phones. Maybe Barry will leave this country, if elected.
  Hugo may yoy R.I.P. (Rot Into Pieces)
  
  Report this comment
- biohazard23
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:31am
  Why don’t we just give them ours?
  
  Report this comment
- mayancalendar2012
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:33am
  Wait…uh, like they had a choice with Chavez?
  
  Report this comment
- Gonzo
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:41am
  Yes, he has been elected several times. The majority loved him, make no mistake about that. Just like the majority of our apathetic and ignorant countrymen love Obama.
  
  Report this comment
progressiveslayer
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:05am
The dictator is dead it’s party time! Not so fast because another dictator will take over and we all know it. FYI Chavez ruled Venezuela not Bolivia.

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Trail_Jumper
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:05am
It is appointed unto man to live and die, and then the judgement. He he he, good luck with that Hugo. Hell is an awful, awful place. And eternity is a long, long time.
My congratulations to the Venezuelan people. You are one step closer to freedom.

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- Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:19am
  God will enact final justice upon the man, as with all of us in the end.
  
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AxelPhantom
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:03am
The fires of hell are burning a little hotter today.

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