[An Nahar] Some of the world's most notorious strongmen wept openly Friday at the lavish state funeral of Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan leftist whose revolution won him friends and foes at home and abroad.Venezuelan conductor and Los Angeles Philharmonic maestro Gustavo Dudamel led an orchestra's rendition of the national anthem to open the ceremony as Chavez lay in state in a flag-covered coffin after a 14-year reign.
Chavez's political heir, Vice President Nicolas Maduro, placed a replica of the golden sword of South American independence hero Simon Bolivar on his mentor's wooden casket as more than 30 heads of state applauded.
Presidents
Mahmoud Short RoundAhmadinejad of Iran and Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus sat next to each other, wiping away tears as a band played one of Chavez's favorite sentimental songs, typical from his native land.
Several Latin American leaders, including Cuban President Compañero Raul Castro
...Fidel's little brother...
, were invited to stand around the coffin, which was closed and covered in the yellow, blue and red colors of Venezuela, in an honor guard.
As well as alliances with a motley crew of anti-Western autocrats, Chavez had also built friendships with some Hollywood stars, including Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn, who attended the funeral.
Chavez's body will lie in state for seven more days and officials said his body will be embalmed and preserved "like Lenin" to rest in a glass casket in the military barracks where he plotted a failed coup in 1992.