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Sean Penn on Hugo Chavez's death: 'I lost a friend'

TODAY
Leo Ramirez / AFP/Getty Images file / Today
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Sean Penn together on Feb. 16, 2012.

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez died on Tuesday after a long bout with cancer. He was 58.

The controversial leader had a slew of Hollywood heavyweights supporting him throughout his reign, with the most vocal two being actor Sean Penn and filmmaker Oliver Stone.

"Today the people of the United States lost a friend it never knew it had. And poor people around the world lost a champion." says Penn in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. "I lost a friend I was blessed to have. My thoughts are with the family of President Chavez and the people of Venezuela."

Photos from THR: Hollywood's Notable Deaths of 2013

"Venezuela and its revolution will endure under the proven leadership of Vice President Maduro," adds Penn.

Penn, who has been a longtime supporter of Chavez, made a surprise appearance in Bolivia in December to attend a candlelight vigil for the health of the leader. Said Penn at the vigil: “He’s one of the most important forces we’ve had on this planet, and I’ll wish him nothing but that great strength he has shown over and over again. I do it in love, and I do it in gratitude."

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    Image: Supporters of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez react to the announcement of his death in Caracas

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    Supporters of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez across the Americas mourn his death.

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    Managua, Nicaragua

    People hold pictures of Hugo Chavez at a concert in homenage of the late President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez, held at the Parque La Biblia, in Managua, Nicaragua on March 7.

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    Cubans queue up at Revolution Square in Havana to attend the posthumous tribute to late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at the Jose Marti Memorial, on March 7.

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    A Belarusian woman mourns in front of a poster with the image of the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez inside Venezuela's embassy in Minsk, Belarus, on March 7.

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    Belarusian and Venezuelan army officers embrace in front of a poster with the image of the late Hugo Chavez inside Venezuela's embassy in Minsk, Belarus on March 7.

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    People take part in a rally paying homage to Hugo Chavez in Madrid, Spain, on March 6.

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    A Palestinian protestor, holding a picture of Hugo Chavez in honor of his death, is seen during clashes with Israeli soldiers outside Ofer prison, near Ramallah, West Bank, following a demonstration in support of Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike in Israeli jails on March 6.

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    The Cuban flag flies at half mast in honor of the late Hugo Chavez in Havana on March 6.

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    Supporters of Hugo Chavez gather in front of Venezuela's embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on March 5.

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    A Mexican supporter of Hugo Chavez waves a Venezuelan flag in front of Venezuela's embassy in Mexico City on March 5.

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    Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Players from Venezuela's Caracas soccer team observe a minute of silence honoring Hugo Chavez before a Copa Libertadores match against Brazil's Gremio in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on March 5.

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    Managua, Nicaragua

    Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega, center, gestures as he delivers a speech in front of an image of Hugo Chavez during a ceremony honoring him in Managua, Nicaragua, on March 5.

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    A Nicaraguan supporter of Hugo Chavez holds a poster of him at Revolution Square in Managua on March 5.

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    Supporters of Hugo Chavez light candles as they gather for a vigil at a school for teachers in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on March 5.

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    A supporter of Hugo Chavez participates in a homage to him at the Salvador del Mundo square in San Salvador, El Salvador, on March 5.

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    Argentine supporters of Chavez demonstrate in front of Venezuela's embassy in Buenos Aires on Tuesday night.

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    Argentine supporters of Chavez gather in front of Venezuela's embassy in Buenos Aires on Tuesday night.

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    Doral, Florida

    People in Doral, Florida, hold Venezuelan flags as they listen to television reports on the death of Hugo Chavez on Tuesday.

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    Santiago, Chile

    Chavez supporters light candles in front of the Venezuelan embassy in Santiago, Chile on Tuesday.

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Earlier in August 2012, Penn had joined Chavez at an election rally in Venezuela. The two first met in 2007 in Venezuela.

More from THR: Sean Penn Attends Vigil for Hugo Chavez in Bolivia

Stone first met Chavez in December 2007. The filmmaker championed Chavez in his 2009 film "South of the Border," which explored the political and social changes occurring in South America, and credited Chavez for many of those changes.

''I mourn a great hero to the majority of his people and those who struggle throughout the world for a place," says Stone in a statement to THR. "Hated by the entrenched classes, Hugo Chavez will live forever in history."

"My friend, rest finally in a peace long earned," he adds.

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