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Leaders arrive for Chavez funeral

Leaders from all over the world were in Venezuela Friday for the funeral of Hugo Chavez, joining a nation that continued to mourn. FULL STORY

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Leaders arrive for Chavez funeral

By Karen Smith and Mariano Castillo, CNN

March 8, 2013 -- Updated 1427 GMT (2227 HKT)

Army Lt. Col. Hugo Chavez, who led a 1992 attempted coup, speaks to reporters on March 26, 1994, after he was freed from jail. Chavez was freed after charges were dropped against him for leading the first of two attempted coups against the government of former President Carlos Andres Perez, who was later removed from office.

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Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's vocal leader

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Nicolas Maduro to be sworn in Friday as interim president
- Chavez, who had cancer, died at 58 on Tuesday; the funeral is set for Friday
- He will be laid to rest at a military museum where generations of Venezuelans can visit
- Chavez's body will "be surrounded by crystal glass forever," Maduro says
Watch live coverage of the funeral of Hugo Chavez on CNN LIVE from 1030a ET/1530 GMT
(CNN) -- The funeral for Hugo Chavez is Friday, but his final resting place will not be a cemetery.

In an unexpected twist, it was announced that the Venezuelan president will be embalmed "just like Lenin (and) Mao Zedong" and laid to rest at a military museum where generations of Venezuelans can visit.

It is a reminder that Chavez's image -- a symbol of hope to some and ineptitude to others -- will not soon fade.

Chavez, who brought to Venezuela a social revolution with anti-American flair, allied himself with others at odds with the United States. So it was no surprise that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was among the heads of state to arrive in Caracas for the funeral.

Chavez to be embalmed for display

Paying last respects to Hugo Chavez

iReporters remember Hugo Chavez

"He was a dear friend of all nations worldwide," Ahmadinejad said to the crowd and the Venezuelan state broadcaster VTV there. "He was the emotional pillar for all the revolutionary and freedom-seeking people of the region and the world."

The United States, which doesn't have an ambassador in Venezuela, is being represented at the funeral by its charge d'affaires at its embassy in Caracas, James Derham.

U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-New York, and former lawmaker William Delahunt of Massachusetts make up the rest of the U.S. delegation.

Opinion: Chavez was a maker of dreams

Chavez died at 58 Tuesday after a long battle with cancer. Thousands of his supporters lined the streets Wednesday in a procession from the military hospital where he died to a military academy where Venezuelans could view him.

As president, Chavez cultivated an image as a protector of the country's marginalized, and his followers worshiped him with fervor. The turnout at the military academy to view Chavez was so great that the viewing was extended for another seven days.

Vice President Nicolas Maduro will be sworn in Friday night as the country's interim president. Under the constitution, new elections are to be called within 30 days.

Opinion: Chavez used force of personality to win votes

Maduro, whom Chavez named as his preferred successor, made the announcement Thursday about Chavez's final resting place.

"The body of our leader will be embalmed, and it will ... be surrounded by crystal glass forever, present forever, and always with his people," he said on state-run TV.

Cuban President Raul Castro, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos were among the leaders already in Venezuela early Friday.

In all, at least 50 different countries were sending delegates for the funeral, Maduro said.

Chavez first announced his cancer diagnosis in June 2011, but the government never revealed details about his prognosis or specified what kind of cancer he had.

CNN's Mitra Mobasherat contributed to this report.

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