58-year-old president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, passed away in a military hospital after a two-year bout with cancer on Tuesday.

His Vice-President, Nicolas Maduro announced the death of the top man in the South American government yesterday on that country’s national television. Chavez is due to be buried on Friday, but the location of his burial has not yet been divulged by the Venezuelan government.

Revered by millions of Venezuelan poorer citizens, he was a hero to many of them for utilizing the oil wealth of the country to provide them with low-cost food and free medical care along with other social programs, Chavez was demonized by the United States government.

Born to two school teachers, earlier in life, Chavez wanted to pursue a career in baseball, but joined the Venezuelan army instead and became a paratrooper.

By 1992, Chavez’s interests had turned to the politics of his country. He led an unsuccessful coup against the government of Carlos Perez and was jailed when it failed. But, by 1998, Chavez won the election for the presidency running on a platform of poverty eradication and ridding the government of corruption. He would serve 14 years in the president’s chair.

Many world leaders offered condolences after Chavez death. Among them were Iran’s President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Bolivia’s President Eva Morales, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, Argentine President Cristina Ferdandez, and Uruguayan President Jose Mujica.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon also sent his condolences to the people of Venezuela. So did the government of China. In Cuba, that close ally declared two days of mourning for what they called one of Cuba’s “most outstanding sons.”

In the United States, a cautious message was sent to Venezuela expressing support for the citizens of that country. In parts of the U.S., the passing of Chavez was seen as a reason to celebrate, as was done in parts of Florida where large amounts of Venezuelans fled when Chavez came into power. They considered Chavez a dictator.

Until national elections can be held to pick a successor for Chavez, his vice president, Maduro will pick up the reins. An election date is expected within thirty days. That election will no doubt pit Maduro against opposition leader Henrique Capriles.

Also on Tuesday, the Venezuelan government expelled two diplomats from the U.S. accusing them of attempting to destabilize the government. The U.S. rejected the claim.