55 world leaders expected in Venezuela for Chavez funeral
CARACAS -- Hundreds of thousands of President Hugo Chávez’s followers waited hours in a three-mile-long line Thursday to file past the late leader’s coffin as Cuban leader Raúl Castro and other presidents arrived to attend Friday’s state funeral.
Castro’s unexpected arrival in the early afternoon at the Simon Bolivar International Airport was broadcast live by the official Venezuelan television network VTV. He was greeted by Foreign Minister Elías Jaua and a small military honor guard, but did not make public comments.
Castro’s was followed a few minutes later by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, and her predecessor Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Venezuelan Vice President Nicolás Maduro said Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was expected late Thursday, the latest of more than 55 leaders to attend the funeral.
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