Maduro Leads

Turning again to events unfolding in Venezuela, elections are now in full swing -- interim President Nicolas Maduro, Hugo Chavez' former vice president and chosen successor, well in the lead, with the April 14th vote predicted as a landslide.  From IPS,

Maduro, the new leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), and Henrique Capriles, the candidate of the heterogeneous opposition coalition, will face off at the polls to win the six-year term to which the late Hugo Chávez (1954-2013) had been re-elected in October.

Real News reports President Maduro's campaign themes include a deepening of Hugo Chavez' legacy, reduction of the homicide rate, and that the opposition is receiving support from the United States - primarily through former Bush state department officials, Otto Reich and Roger Noriega.

More below in video coverage from Venezuela:



*Photo credit/courtesy of LA Times/Photographer: Juan Barreto/April 4, 2013, Venezuelan interim President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores greet supporters during a San Carlos campaign rally.