Actor Sean Penn served up gushing admiration of Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez at a vigil for the cancer-stricken leader in La Paz, Bolivia Monday.
Chavez is recovering in Cuba from an operation to attack aggressive pelvic cancer that hasn’t succumbed to multiple treatments and has led him to name a successor, reports the
Washington Post.
“He is one of the most important forces we've had on this planet,” said Penn, star of “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” a comedy classic.
“I will wish him nothing but that great strength he has shown over and over again,” the actor said of Chavez. “I do it in love, and I do it in gratitude. From my very American point of view, my friend President Chavez, it is only possible to be so inspirational as he is on a two-way street. And he would say that his inspiration is the people.”
Those people who are protesting against some of Chavez’ repressive policies obviously view things differently.
Throughout his nearly 14-year-old presidency, some Venezuelans have embraced him as a man of the people, while others have been repulsed by his harsh treatment of opponents, whom he calls “oligarchs” and “squalid ones,” according to The Associated Press. They also aren’t impressed by his harangues against the United States and nationalization of companies.
© 2013 Newsmax. All rights reserved.