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U.S. Army Captain Michael Kelvington, commander of the Battle company, 1-508 Parachute Infantry battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, bows next to remains of Gulam Dostager, a member of Afghan Local Police who was killed in the blast of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) during the joint Tor Janda (Black Flag in Pashtu) operation, in Zahri district of Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan May 25, 2012. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov (AFGHANISTAN - Tags: MILITARY CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

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U.S. Army Captain Michael Kelvington, commander of the Battle company, 1-508 Parachute Infantry battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, bows next to remains of Gulam Dostager, a member of Afghan Local Police who was killed in the blast of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) during the joint Tor Janda (Black Flag in Pashtu) operation, in Zahri district of Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan May 25, 2012. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov (AFGHANISTAN - Tags: MILITARY CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

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Members of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels fly over the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan as part of the 25th annual Fleet Week celebration in New York, May 23, 2012. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz (UNITED STATES - Tags: MILITARY ANNIVERSARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

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Former Venezuelan President Caldera dies at age 93

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Former Venezuelan President Rafael Caldera, with his wife Alicia to his side, waves to the crowd after delivering his final annual address to Congress January 28, 1999. REUTERS/STR New

Former Venezuelan President Rafael Caldera, with his wife Alicia to his side, waves to the crowd after delivering his final annual address to Congress January 28, 1999.

Credit: Reuters/STR New

CARACAS | Thu Dec 24, 2009 11:07am EST

CARACAS (Reuters) - Rafael Caldera, who served twice as Venezuela's president and released current leader Hugo Chavez from jail after his failed coup attempt in the 1990s, died at age 93 on Thursday, his family and state media said.

Caldera, a lawyer and veteran politician who ruled South America's top oil exporter between 1969-1974 and 1994-1999, suffered from Parkinson's disease. He died in Caracas.

Caldera's second term was marked by a traumatic financial crisis that sunk half of Venezuela's banks and cost the state some $11 billion.

In 1994, Caldera pardoned Chavez, who was jailed after he lead a failed military coup against former President Carlos Andres Perez in 1992.

Chavez went on to succeed Caldera and has ruled Venezuela since 1999.

Caldera's son, Andres Caldera, said his father would be buried on Saturday. The former leader was born in western Yaracuy state on January 24, 1916.
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