Simon Bolivar Tests Don’t Rule Poisoning In or Out

imon Bolivar, who led South America’s Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Columbia and Bolivia to independence from Spain, wasn’t necessarily murdered as Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez claims, according to news reports.

Bloomberg reported that Vice President Elias Jaua read a forensic report on state television that said, in part, “The hypothesis many historians had about Bolivar’s death by poisoning was ruled out,” He also said, “The possibility that he may have consumed medicines that poisoned him unintentionally remains open.”

Bolivar died in 1830 and according to the BBC, the cause has widely been reported to have been tuberculosis. Jose Antonio Lorente, a forensics expert, of the University of Granada, led the study of DNA samples from Bolivar. The Associated Press reported that the remains have been confirmed to be those of Bolivar. The BBC reported that Jaua said more testing would be done.

On Sunday, Venezuelans celebrated the anniversary of the birth of Bolivar in 1783. Chavez returned from medical treatment he’d been receiving in Cuba in time for the celebrations.

Descargar