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Nicolas Maduro is due to be sworn in as the first Venezuelan president to take office after 14 years of Hugo Chavez.

Venezuela awoke to political turmoil Monday after Hugo Chavez's chosen successor, Nicolas Maduro, won the country’s presidential election by such a tight margin that his rival demanded a recount. The country, already shaken by the death from cancer of its dominating leader, faces uncertainty after Maduro secured 50.7 percent of the votes in Sunday's election, compared with 49.1 percent for Henrique Capriles -- a difference of just 235,000 ballots.

Foreign dignitaries and Venezuelans continued their extended goodbye to Hugo Chávez on Friday as the government began a stately funeral that seemed designed to showcase Mr. Chávez’s appeal to the powerless and the powerful.

President Hugo Chavez, the fiery populist who declared a socialist revolution in Venezuela, crusaded against U.S. influence and championed a leftist revival across Latin America, died Tuesday at age 58 after a nearly two-year bout with cancer.

President Hugo Chávez, who returned to Venezuela Monday after undergoing medical treatment in Cuba, continues to suffer respiratory problems in his two-year battle with cancer, the Venezuelan government said in a somber statement Thursday.

Venezuela's cancer-stricken President Hugo Chavez is recovering in Cuba and is not in a coma as some have rumored a month after surgery, his brother, Adan Chavez, said after a visit to Havana.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has flown to Cuba for a third cancer operation after designating the vice president as his political heir. State television showed images of Mr Chavez hugging vice president Nicolas Maduro and other aides before boarding the presidential jet.