World | Hugo Chavez Chavez's Nuttiest Theories Remember how capitalism killed life on Mars? By John Johnson Posted Mar 5, 2013 7:19 PM CST Copied In this 2005 file photo, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez wears a Mexican sombrero as he sings a Mexican ranchera song at a rally in Caracas, Venezuela. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File) The Los Angeles Times rounds up some of the more memorable declarations of the late Hugo Chavez, including: Mars: He theorized in 2011 that the red planet once might have had life but that capitalism and "imperialism" arrived on the planet and killed it. Cancer plot: He once speculated that the US gave him and other Latin American leaders cancer, a conspiracy floated anew today by his vice president. Haiti quake: The US caused it with a super-secret weapon. Twitter: He once called Twitter a "tool of terrorism," before becoming an enthusiastic tweeter himself. Devil: At a speech to the UN in 2006, he called George W. Bush the devil, crossed himself, and said the lectern "still smells of sulfur." At a subsequent speech in 2009, he said President Obama had eliminated the sulfur scent. Click for more. Read These Next New Fox star, 23, misses first day after car troubles. Man accused of killing his daughters might be dead. Her blood isn't compatible with anyone else's. White House rolls with Trump's 'daddy' nickname. Report an error