The presidents of Nicaragua and Bolivia, Daniel Ortega and Luis Arce, respectively; They arrived at dawn on Sunday, March 4, in Caracas to participate in the commemorative acts for the tenth anniversary of the death of former President Hugo Chávez.
“We are on the day of Commander Hugo Chávez’s passing to immortality, today more than ever we have to join forces (…) to continue waging the battle for the freedom of our peoples,” Ortega told the state channel upon arrival at the airport. Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía, which serves Caracas.
The Nicaraguan president, close to Chávez and currently to Nicolás Maduro, was received by the Minister of the Interior, Remigio Ceballos, with whom he held a private meeting.
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The government of Nicolás Maduro has been carrying out commemorative acts since Friday for the anniversary of the death of the former president and plans to culminate the tribute with a meeting between leaders and former leftist political leaders who were close to Chávez.
During the weekend, former Cuban presidents Raúl Castro, Honduran Manuel Zelaya, and Bolivian Evo Morales arrived in the country.
The current president of Bolivia, Luis Arce, also joined. “The great homeland is one of his legacies -of Chávez-, integration and, in short, so many things that he has raised at the time,” he said.
Chávez ruled Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013 and during his tenure he maintained close relations with leaders from Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Argentina and Brazil.
In the midst of a battle against cancer, he asked his followers to support Nicolás Maduro as his successor.
Maduro assumed power three days after Chávez’s death was announced, and was then elected on April 14 of that year. He got him re-elected in 2018 amid international rejection and questioning with accusations of fraud.
