Hugo Chavez's Chosen Heir Elected Venezuela's New President - East Idaho News
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Hugo Chavez’s Chosen Heir Elected Venezuela’s New President

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GETTY 41513 NicolasMaduro?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1366014486328LUIS ACOSTA/AFP/Getty Images(CARACAS, Venezuela) — Barring a recount, Nicolas Maduro apparently won election Sunday as Venezuela’s next president, taking the place of the late Hugo Chavez, who succumbed to cancer on March 5.

With virtually all the votes in, Maduro was ahead of challenger Henrique Capriles 50.6 percent to 49.1 percent.  While Capriles, who ran and lost against Chavez last fall, could contest the outcome, the Venezuelan electoral council called the results “irreversible.”

Maduro was chosen by Chavez to be acting president while he underwent medical care for cancer in Havana late last year.  However, with little hope that their treatment worked, Cuban doctors sent Chavez back to Caracas to spend his remaining days.

It’s expected that Maduro will carry on the socialist policies of his predecessor while serving out a six-year term.  Chavez regularly upset Washington by backing rogue countries like Iran and North Korea.

However, there are also indications that Maduro might take oil-rich Venezuela in a slightly different direction and seek to mend fences with the Obama administration.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

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