Venezuela opposition chief enters race Venezuela's opposition leader says he will run in the April 14 presidential election. OPPOSITION leader Henrique Capriles has entered the race to succeed Hugo Chavez in the April 14 election, accusing the late Venezuelan leader's chosen successor of using Chavez's death for political ends. Capriles, who lost to Chavez in the October election, launched a broadside against acting President Nicolas Maduro, even suggesting that he lied about the day that Chavez died. Nicolas, I won't leave you an open path, mate. You are going to have to defeat me with votes," said the telegenic 40-year-old Miranda state governor on Sunday. After weeks of rumours about the president's health, Maduro went on national television last Tuesday to announce the death of Chavez, telling that nation that the firebrand leftist had lost his two-year battle with cancer at that age of 58. "Nicolas lied to this country," Capriles said, adding that the former vice president had been buying time during Chavez's illness to prepare the election. Who knows when president Chavez died? Chavez travelled to Cuba on December 10 for a fourth round of cancer surgery and was never heard or seen in public again. He returned to Caracas on February 18 and no images of him were ever shown until his death. He has been lying in state since Wednesday in an open casket at a Caracas military academy. The government says it will embalm the body for posterity to be viewed "like Lenin" in a glass casket, a decision denounced by the opposition, which says Chavez wanted to be buried. "Now on top of it all, you are using the body of the president to stage a political campaign," Capriles said, accusing the late leader's aides of being "sickened by power." The opposition leader accused the government again of abusing its power and violating the constitution by swearing-in Maduro as acting president late on Friday, arguing that he should have stepped down in order to run for office. The late president will cast a huge shadow over the election, with throngs of Chavez loyalists continuing to file past his open casket at the military academy under a baking sun. As they stood in line, they chanted: "Chavez I swear to you, my vote is for Maduro!"