Hugo Chavez's Final Words Before Fatal Heart Attack: "Please Don't Let Me Die"

As the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is mourned around the world, one of his closest associates reveals that he died from a massive heart attack.

Chavez, 58, had been suffering from cancer since 2011 and was being treated for it in Cuba. General Jose Ornella, who said he had been with Chavez for the past two years, said that before he died, "He couldn't speak but he said it with his lips ... 'I don't want to die. Please don't let me die,' because he loved his country, he sacrificed himself for his country."

The Venezuelan government never gave details about the kind of cancer Chavez had or his surgeries, but apparently the cancer was in the "pelvic region." The AP reports, "Ornella did not respond when asked if the cancer had spread to Chavez's lungs. The general said he didn't know precisely what kind of cancer afflicted Chavez, but added: 'He suffered a lot.' He said Chavez knew when he spoke to Venezuelans on Dec. 8, three days before his final surgery in Cuba, that 'there was very little hope he would make it out of that operation.'"