Hugo Chavez, Venezuelan President, Dead at 58

Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez has died, the country’s vice-president said Tuesday.

Vice-President Nicolas Maduro broke the news on national television, The Associated Press reports.

Chavez, one of Latin America’s most vocal and controversial leaders, had been struggling with cancer for almost two years and had recently undergone surgery in Cuba.

Chavez’s condition had worsened in recent weeks and the leader had been completely out of the public eye. This week, he contracted a “severe infection,” Venezuela’s Communications Minister Ernesto Villegas said.

Rest in peace…