By Mark Vester
In his weekly column, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez expressed his grief over the tragic death of Edwin Valero. Last week Valero hanged himself in his jail cell after being arrested for the murder of his wife, Jennifer Carolina, in a hotel located in the city of Valencia. Valero saw Chavez as a hero and sported a huge tattoo featuring Chavez on his chest. Chavez wrote how Valero was an fighter unbeaten in the ring, with a record of 27-0, 27KOs, but he couldn't beat his demons - being addicted to drugs and alcohol.
Chavez felt the Venezuelan media hounded Valero because of his support for the government and exploited all of his misfortunes in the papers, and that only made things worse for the fighter.
"In his brilliant boxing career, giving it all for Venezuela, El Inca never knew defeat," Chavez wrote. "But he couldn't come to dominate himself."
"It's necessary to underline the media frenzy that encircled 'El Inca' during recent months. They never forgave his identification with the Bolivarian Revolution. Someone who had turned into a symbol had to be destroyed - at any cost. Now, like vultures, they feed off the cadavers of Jennifer and Edwin."
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