CFK attends Chávez's funeral

President Cristina Fernández Kirchner, accompanied by an important delegation of officials and legislators, attended the funeral of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, who died yesterday at age 58.

The Tango 01 Presidential airplane carrying the Head of State arrived at Maiquetía International Airport "Simón Bolívar" near 6:30am (BA time).

Fernández de Kirchner travelled with Uruguayan President José Mujica and his wife and First Lady, Lucia Topolansky.

The presidential entourage included Planning Minister Julio de Vido, Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman, Interior Minister Florencio Randazzo, Cabinet Chief Juan Abal Medina, Presidential Legal and Technical Secretary Carlos Zannini, Senators Miguel Angel Pichetto and Aníbal Fernández, Deputy Andrés Larroque, City Lawmaker Cabandié, among others.

Those who were close to the President at the time the news broke, revealed to Ámbito.com that Fernández was “highly concerned,” and that as much as Chávez’s death was expected, at some point, the official confirmation "really affected her."

Sources explained that “It was not just the death of a president but a great personal friend", and remembered that, “The friendship started with former President Néstor Kirchner, but then Chávez quickly conquered Cristina’s heart as well."

Yesterday, the President cancelled all her activities and ordered three days of mourning. Likewise, the Head of State cancelled a meeting she was going to hold with her Brazilian counterpart, Dilma Rousseff, on Thursday at El Calafate, Santa Cruz province to debate an economic agenda.