Sean Penn Mourns Death Of Hugo Chavez: “I Lost A Friend I Was Blessed To Have”

hugo chavez Michael Moore Oliver Stone Sean Penn

9:57 am, March 6th, 2013

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Sean Penn is mourning the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who passed away at age 58 on Tuesday after a long battle with cancer.

The actor, who for years has been vocal about his support of Chavez, said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, “Today the people of the United States lost a friend it never knew it had. And poor people around the world lost a champion.”

“I lost a friend I was blessed to have. My thoughts are with the family of President Chavez and the people of Venezuela,” Penn added.

Oliver Stone and Michael Moore were also among the Hollywood stars to pay tribute to the controversial politician.

Stone, whose 2009 documentary South of the Border celebrated Chavez’s rule, tweeted, “I mourn a great hero to the majority of his people and those who struggle throughout the world for a place. Hated by the entrenched classes, Hugo Chavez will live forever in history. My friend, rest finally in a peace long earned.”

Moore, who remembered meeting Chavez at the Venice Film Festival in 2009, wrote, “We spoke for over an hour. He said he was happy 2 finally meet someone Bush hated more than him.”

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