Venezuela marks 200 years of independence

Venezuela is celebrating its 200 years of independence with a lavish military parade as opposition groups lament the state of the country's democracy under the rule of firebrand leftist leader Hugo Chavez. The march of military hardware and troops through the streets of Caracas marked the bicentennial of the first steps towards independence from Spain, when on April 19, 1810 Venezuelan leaders moved to depose the colonial regime. Chavez ally Cuban President Raul Castro and other regional leaders, including Argentine leader Cristina Kirchner and Dominican Republic Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, also attended the parade. Over the last decade Chavez has continually linked his socialist projects to the Venezuela war of independence, especially harkening back to the actions of heroic liberation figure Simon Bolivar to champion his government policies.