Advertisement

Hugo Chavez funeral: Live Report

Hugo Chavez's funeral in Caracas is now over, an emotional two-hour event which drew public tears from the likes of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Belarussian leader Alexander Lukashenko. The service was dominated by an address from Chavez's chosen successor Nicolas Maduro in front of millions watching in huge crowds outside and on television. Maduro will be sworn in as acting president at 2330 GMT. US civil rights leader Reverend Jesse Jackson also spoke, urging a healing of the troubled relations between his country and Venezuela. Actor Sean Penn was among the other notable mourners. Chavez's body will lie in state for seven more days, allowing thousands more Venezuelans to pay their last respects to "El Comandante." His body will then be embalmed and laid to rest in a glass casket in the military barracks where he plotted a failed coup in 1992. Keep following AFP's coverage online for all the latest developments from Venezuela. LIVE REPORT ENDS. 1845 GMT: Chavez's funeral service has now finished. 1836 GMT: Bolivar's replica sword, which was on top of Chavez's coffin, is symbolically put back in its scabbard and handed over to Chavez's children by Maduro. 1835 GMT: Maduro's speech ends after over half an hour, his voice rising to a crescendo as he vows to continue the fight to help the poor and the needy. "Chavez asked 'what are you going to do when I die? How are you going to do it?' He made sure everything was arranged and left in place. "Commander, you can go in peace. We are going to go together, people, armed forces, with the constitution, to continue building the peace for our people, our continent. Ever onwards to victory, commander!" The speech closes to loud applause and chants. 1831 GMT: Maduro says he loves all the people of the Americas but stresses that Venezuela wants a world without imperialist powers, as Chavez said -- better relations with nations who treat everyone equally and with respect. 1829 GMT: Maduro thanks the US attendees, as well as Raul Castro and Jesse Jackson. 1822 GMT: Maduro draws warm applause as he holds up a little blue book containing the constitution and urges anyone who has any doubts about Chavez's life and work to read his words. 1816 GMT: Colombian President Santos gets a standing ovation as Maduro praises improved relations with the country. 1813 GMT: Maduro's is looking like it will be a lengthy address. This is an opportunity to seal his leadership credentials before millions ahead of his swearing-in as acting president later, while paying tribute to his mentor. 1808 GMT: Maduro started off his address quietly but rises to an almost hoarse shout as he decries Chavez's enemies and tells those assembled to loud applause that Chavez "will be with us forever." "Never in 200 years of our history have so many lies been told about one man," he says. 1800 GMT: A sombre-looking Maduro is now speaking, thanking those who have travelled to attend the funeral. 1759 GMT: The announcer is now name-checking some of the countries attending -- but there was only muted applause when the US contingent was mentioned. Mention of US actor Sean Penn, who is also at the funeral, drew a more enthusiastic response. 1756 GMT: "The ground is no place for a champion, let there be peace between our nations," Jackson concludes by saying, to applause. 1752 GMT: "We pray God today that you will heal the breach between the US and Venezuela," Jackson adds. "We are neighbours, we share the same hemisphere, we play ball together." 1750 GMT: US civil rights activist Reverend Jesse Jackson is now speaking, telling mourners: "We are here not because Chavez has died but because Chavez has lived." 1748 GMT: AFP's Jordi Miro tells us that mourners outside the military academy are still following the ceremony on giant screens in uncomfortable conditions. "The heat is suffocating, several people have fainted, many are sheltering under umbrellas, volunteers are distributing water," he says. 1744 GMT: As the funeral service goes on, Chavez critics have been speaking out against what they see as his highly damaging legacy after 14 years in power. "There are no words for what Chavez did: he ruined Venezuela," said 78-year-old Giuseppe Leone. Construction worker Rafael, who did not want his surname used, added: "Here we learned to hate, to insult, to belittle each other... it even divided families, and set off fights among family members who did not share Chavez's ideals." 1737 GMT: Venezuela's opposition has said it will boycott Maduro's swearing in as acting president later. "We want to firmly tell the world and Venezuela that we won't attend today's session of the National Assembly because we consider it another electoral act and a violation of the Venezuelan constitutional order," said deputy Angel Medina of the Democratic Union Roundtable, an umbrella grouping of opposition parties. 1732 GMT: A reading now by a Catholic clergyman which starts with a quote from the Bible: "I am the resurrection and the life". 1728 GMT: Chavez's named successor Maduro is in the front row of the mourners, all of whom are now standing. Earlier, he placed a replica of the golden sword of Simon Bolivar on Chavez's casket to applause. 1719 GMT: Syria's representative at the funeral gets a special mention for attending and gets a round of applause. 1717 GMT: Iran's President Ahmadinejad, is sitting next to Belarus's Lukashenko. Both are wiping tears away as the performance of traditional music continues. The prestigious Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra is world-renowned and frequently performs abroad. Dudamel is its musical director. It is fed by Venezuela's youth orchestra system. 1712 GMT: The Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra is now playing various popular Venezuelan songs, accompanied by a singer who periodically drops in references to Chavez to his songs. Many mourners are weeping, wiping away tears and comforting each other as they listen. 1707 GMT: US actor Sean Penn is among other notable figures attending the funeral. Following Chavez's death, Penn said: "Today 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." 1705 GMT: These notable Venezuelans, "the golden generation of the revolutionary youth" according to the announcer, are now surrounding the coffin and holding a silence. 1702 GMT: Maduro shakes hands with visiting dignitaries as they return to the congregation from Chavez's coffin. Conductor Dudamel, wearing a medal and ribbon in the colours of Venezuela around his neck, is now coming up to the coffin with a number of other notable Venezuelans including athletes and baseball players. 1657 GMT: A number of the leaders are coming up to the coffin to play their respects to Chavez, including Iran's Ahmadinejad and Belarus's Lukashenko. "Viva Chavez!" shouts the announcer. 1653 GMT: Those attending the funeral are dressed in sombre black, with many of the women wearing black dresses and dark sunglasses. There are also a large number of military men in uniform in attendance. Chavez's coffin is covered in the Venezuelan flag, surrounded by a guard of honour. 1643 GMT: As the funeral gets under way, Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel leads an orchestral rendition of the national anthem as Chavez lies in state in a flag-covered coffin. 1640 GMT: Cuba, whose President Raul Castro is in attendance at the funeral, has honoured Chavez with a 21-gun salute in Havana. 1634 GMT: The names of the leaders attending the funeral are being read out, attracting cheers from the crowds outside. 1632 GMT: CHAVEZ STATE FUNERAL STARTS 1623 GMT: US civil rights leader Reverend Jesse Jackson is attending the funeral. In a piece for CNN, he has written of how he would like to see the US and Venezuela start sharing common ground in the wake of Chavez's death. "Let's put an end to hot rhetoric, demonization and policies of isolation," he wrote. "It's time to forge a practical, productive relationship that will lead to normalization of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Venezuela." 1614 GMT: Maduro, who will be sworn in as acting president later, is greeted by the crowd on his arrival with cries of "Chavez lives, the fight goes on!" 1608 GMT: National Assembly president Diosdado Cabello has just tweeted to say the funeral will start in a few minutes. "My Comandante, every day has been difficult. Help us to be more like you in order to continue serving the people and the nation," he adds. 1558 GMT: 32 heads of state are in attendance and there are representatives from 55 countries in total, according to the Venezuelan foreign ministry. "It's impressive -- the whole world is in Venezuela," says a commentator on state television. 1555 GMT: More details on the arrival of Ahmadinejad and Castro coming in from Laurent Thomet. "President Ahmadinejad, looking emotional, hugged Foreign Minister Elias Jaua and pumped both fists in the air toward the cheering Chavez loyalists," he says. "Later Chavez’s closest ally, Cuban leader Raul Castro, whose nation's economy relies on cheap Venezuelan oil shipments to stay afloat, waved both hands and then held them together." 1552 GMT: Giant screens near the funeral venue are broadcasting a 2011 interview with Chavez for the crowds waiting outside, AFP's Valeria Pacheco reports. Many of those in the crowd are holding pictures of Chavez and chanting. 1544 GMT: It's 32 degrees celsius in Caracas and many members of the public crowding outside the funeral have put up umbrellas to shelter themselves from the heat of the sun and are sipping drinks to keep cool. Medical staff are on hand to deal with any casualties. 1536 GMT: Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos receives a warm reception from the crowd on arrival for the funeral, AFP's Jordi Miro tells us. 1525 GMT: Plenty of interest in events in Caracas around the world -- "Chavez" and "Presidente" are trending on Twitter. An Phoblacht, the newspaper of Irish republican party Sinn Fein, has posted a picture of a new Chavez tribute destined for one of the famous mural walls in Belfast, Northern Ireland. 1517 GMT: Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel, one of classical music's most recognisable figures, is expected to attend the funeral and may perform, the LA Times has reported. Dudamel, the 32-year-old music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, is a product of Venezuela's "El Sistema", which helps many poor children get involved in youth orchestras. 1510 GMT: Iran's Ahmadinejad has arrived. 1506 GMT: AFP's Pierre Ausseill reports that the funeral is being broadcast live by Venezuelan TV channels, which are full of tributes to the "Simon Bolivar of the 21st century." 1502 GMT: Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has broken with protocol, Laurent Thomet reports, walking toward the crowd to shake hands with people in the type of move synonymous with Chavez himself. Relations between Colombia and Venezuela had their ups and downs under Chavez but were warmer under Santos. Chavez played a key role in facilitating peace talks between Bogota and Marxist FARC rebels. 1458 GMT: Following the funeral, Chavez's body will be taken to the "Mountain Barracks", from where he planned his failed coup in 1992. The site is now being converted into a Museum of the Revolution. But Maduro has suggested his body could eventually be taken elsewhere. There have been some calls for his final resting place to be the national pantheon, alongside independence hero Simon Bolivar. 1450 GMT: AFP's Laurent Thomet tells us that Chavez's mother has arrived for the funeral in tears. She was seen "raising her arms toward the crowd and putting one hand over her heart. She wiped the tears with a white handkerchief," Laurent says. 1448 GMT: After the funeral, Chavez's body will be embalmed "like Ho Chi Minh, Lenin and Mao," and kept in a glass casket on permanent public show, Maduro has said. A Philippine mortician famous for preserving late dictator Ferdinand Marcos's body has already offered his services to assist. Frank Malabed told AFP in Manila: "I have not been contacted for it but I am always expecting a call. I will process anyone, anywhere." 1445 GMT: After the funeral, Chavez's handpicked successor Nicolas Maduro is due to be sworn in as acting president of Venezuela at around 2330 GMT (7:00 pm local time). He is then expected to call for elections, which must be set within 30 days under the constitution. 1440 GMT: AFP's Laurent Thomet in Caracas reports that Latin American leaders and US foes have begun to arrive for the funeral. Foreign Minister Elias Jaua greeted them as a crowd of Chavez supporters clad in red cheered from behind a fence in front of the military academy. Belarussian strongman Alexander Lukashenko -- once dubbed "Europe's last dictator" by the US -- smiled and pumped his first at the crowd. He was with his young son and held his hand as he walked the red carpet. 1435 GMT: A total of 55 world leaders are expected to attend the funeral, including Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff as well as Castro and Ahmadinejad. But many Western countries such as the US -- seen under Chavez as Venezuela's arch-foe -- are sending only low-key delegations. President Barack Obama is being represented by the US charge d'affaires and two Democratic Party politicians. WELCOME TO AFP'S LIVE REPORT on the funeral of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Scores of world leaders including Cuba's President Raul Castro and Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are in Caracas to pay their last respects to the 58-year-old strongman, who passed away Tuesday. More than two million Venezuelans have already queued up in the city to see Chavez's body, which has been lying in state in a glass-covered casket, his body clad in military fatigues, a black tie and his trademark red beret. A huge crowd of flag-waving Chavez supporters are greeting the leaders pulling up at the military academy for the funeral. The funeral is due to begin at 1530 GMT and is likely to be a rousing send-off for the divisive yet charismatic figure known to many Venezuelans as "El Comandante." Stay with us to follow the story as it happens.