The Venezuelan Embassy commemorated the first death anniversary of Hugo Chavez, the country’s former president, here on Wednesday.

The event took place at the residence of the Venezuelan Ambassador Joseba Achotegui at the Diplomatic Quarter. Several diplomats from other countries attended the event.

Achotegui described Chavez as the country’s “beloved and incomparable” president who believed in multilateralism. He said no single country should be allowed to dictate to “what the rest of the world should do or think.”

He said Chavez struggled to unite Latin America and the Caribbean, which was the “great dream of our liberator, Simon Bolivar, 200 years ago.”

He said Chavez had played a critical part in forming several regional organizations that had helped unite South American countries, with a focus on common interests, unlike “our neighbor to the north.”

Achotegui said this work had resulted in Chavez becoming the enemy of people who did not believe in equality and independence. He said Chavez had achieved remarkable success as a politician, having won 18 out of 19 elections, during 14 successive presidential terms and other elections.

He said certain local and international media organizations had been opposed to Chavez’s ideas and wanted to “impose the old schemes of domination.” He said the Venezuelan government would continue to fight for a better world.