Hugo Chávez Death Anniversary: 10 Outrageous Quotes To Remember Venezuelan Leader

There is no denying Hugo Chávez had incredible charisma. He mobilized an entire nation behind his own brand of socialism and inspired countless people with his anti-capitalist rhetoric. A year after his death, however, and Venezuela has descended into complete chaos, demonstrating that for all his bravura, Mr. Chávez was not a leader that understood the reality of his nation. Here are ten outrageous quotes that demonstrate the occasional madness of the charismatic leader.

Hugo Chavez was no fan of American Presidents: 1."You are a fraud, Obama. … Go and ask many people in Africa, who might have believed in you because of the colour of your skin, because your father was from Africa. You are an Afro-descendant, but you are the shame of all those people." And of course there was George W. Bush who Chavez called 'the devil.' 2. "You are an alcoholic, a drunk, a liar, an immoral person, Mr. Danger. You are the worst … a psychologically sick man."

But it was not just American Presidents that Chávez railed against. Former Secretary of State Condaleezza Rice copped her fair share of rage too: 3. "Remember, little girl, I’m like the thorn tree that flowers on the plain. Don’t mess with me, Condoleezza. Don’t mess with me, girl," said Chavez. In another instance he railed 4. "go to hell Gringos! Go home!... What does the empire want? Condoleezza said it. How are you? You've forgotten me, missy..."

Chavez had his fair share of conspiracy theories. 5. "I have always said, heard, that it would not be strange that there had been civilization on Mars, but maybe capitalism arrived there, imperialism arrived and finished off the planet." He even attributed his cancer to American imperialism: 6. "it's very difficult to explain, even with the law of probabilities, what has been happening to some of us in Latin America. Would it be so strange that they've invented technology to spread cancer and we won't know about it for 50 years?"

Among his other 'theories' was equating he discovery of America with the Holocaust: 7. ‘Christopher Columbus was the spearhead of the biggest invasion and genocide ever seen in the history of humanity.’ The Venezuelan leader also linked Halloween to terrorism: 8. ‘What they have implanted here, which is really a ‘gringo’ custom, is terrorism. They disguise children as witches and wizards, that is contrary to our culture.’

Chavez was not happy with the invasion of Libya: 9. ‘Bombing the brave Libyan people to save them? What a brilliant strategy by the mad empire. Where are the international rights? This is like the caveman era.’ Extravagant to the end, Chavez was always one to defend his lifestyle: 10. "Even socialist dictators have an interest in gorgeous supermodels."