Michael Moore Mourns Hugo Chavez, Posts Snapshot With Late Venezuelan President (Photo)

9:17 PM PST 3/5/2013 by Jordan Zakarin

0
0
0
0
0
Email
Print
Comments

The filmmaker wrote, "You won't hear much nice about him in the US media in the next few days. So, I thought I'd say a couple things to provide some balance."

Michael Moore has become the latest Hollywood fan of Hugo Chavez to publicly mourn the death of the late Venezuelan president.

Emad Burnat and Michael Moore on the Deeply Personal Struggle Behind '5 Broken Cameras'

Michael Moore Praises Gun Control, Slams Obama on Drones: 'We Like to Kill Our Own'

"You won't hear much nice about him in the US media in the next few days. So, I thought I'd say a couple things to provide some balance," Moore wrote, shortly after Sean Penn issued a statement calling Chavez, who died of cancer at the age of 58 on Tuesday, a friend. The socialist politician launched Venezuela into a new age of prosperity but was controversial for his alleged corruption and ties to Cuba and Iran. Oliver Stone also tweeted about his sadness over Chavez's death.

STORY: Sean Penn on Hugo Chavez's Death: 'I Lost a Friend'

"Hugo Chavez declared the oil belonged 2 the ppl. He used the oil $ 2 eliminate 75% of extreme poverty, provide free health & education 4 all," Moore tweeted. "That made him dangerous. US approved of a coup to overthrow him even though he was a democratically-elected President."

He added: "Before they cheeleaded [sic] us into the Iraq War, the US media was busy cheering on the overthrow of Chavez. 54 countries around the world allowed the US to detain(& torture) suspects. Latin America, thanks 2 Chavez, was the only place that said no."

Moore also posted photos of himself with Chavez from 2009 at the Venice Film Fest. "We spoke for over an hour," he wrote. "He said he was happy 2 finally meet someone Bush hated more than him."