Ex-Venezuelan President's Funeral Delayed
MIAMI (CBS4) - A family feud over the final resting place of former Venezuelan President Carlos Andres Perez has now delayed his burial after a court decision.
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Gerald Hubbart issued an order preventing a funeral home from burying Perez in Miami pending further orders from the court.
Judge Hubbart's decision came after Perez's first wife, Blanca, filed a complaint saying she wants Perez buried in Venezuela. Perez's most recent wife and two daughters want the former Venezuelan president buried in South Florida.
Perez was a nationalist who led Venezuela during the 1970's oil boom and survived a 1992 coup attempt by current Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.
Perez nationalized Venezuela's oil industry, paid off foreign oil companies and built subway lines and bankrolled several social programs. He also helped end wars in Central American in the 1980's.
Venezuela later impeached Perez in 1993 on corruption charges and spent more than two years under house arrest. He was convicted in 1996, but denied the charges and said they were politically motivated. Perez left Venezuela after Chavez became the dictator of the country.
Perez died Saturday in Miami at the age of 88. His family in South Florida refuses to return his body to Venezuela until Chavez leaves office.
