Havana, March 5 (RHC)-- Cubans are paying tribute to Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez on the 5th anniversary of his death on March 5th.

Political and cultural leaders gathered at the University of San Geronimo of Havana for a solemn ceremony in homage to the eternal Comandante of the Bolivarian Revolution.

It included a master lecture by Havana's Historian Eusebio Leal on Chavez, his tireless work toward what he himself called the second emancipation of Latin American and Caribbean peoples, for which Chevaz' legacy has well transcended Venezuela's border as he was and continues to be a source of inspiration for revolutionaries, progressive governments and forces, and social movements on our Americas and beyond, who like him oppose neo-liberalism, imperialism and all forms of oppression. 

Tributes to Chavez took place also at the headquarters of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) and the ALBA Cultural Center in Havana, where participants reaffirmed their solidarity with the people and government of Venezuela, which have been subjected to threats and acts of aggression by the United States and the Organization of American States (OAS).

Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías served as President of Venezuela from 1999 up until his death on March 5th, 2013.