Who is the President of Venezuela - Hugo Chavez

Hugo Chavez has cultivated a world image of a cuddly, mischievous leftist.

But behind the softy socialist persona is a ruthless politician, a Venezuelan president whose regime is described by the U.S. State Department and others as one of the world's leading abusers of human, political and social rights.

Chavez's transgressions since taking office in 1999 have amounted to much more than merely throwing insults, as he did at former President Bush at the opening session of the 2006 U.N. General Assembly. It was there that Chavez described the American president, who had spoken one day earlier, as the "devil" whose sulfur stench remained at the podium. - FOX News Story