Venezuelans Get Last Glimpses of Chavez

Mourning and deeply divided future for nation

They filed past all night and into the morning, a line of mourners more than a kilometre long, hoping for one final glimpse of Hugo Chavez.

The multitudes wept and crossed themselves as they reached the president's coffin Thursday, united in grief and admiration for a man many considered a father figure, even as Venezuela remains deeply divided over the future.

Cannon boomed a salute each hour, the only interruption to what seemed an endless procession as tens of thousands filed past, with countless more still to come.