Tens of thousands pay respects to Chavez in emotional farewell to island's No. 1 ally

HAVANA – Tens of thousands of Cubans are streaming past a memorial to the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in Havana.

It's a tribute to the man who was the island's most important international ally and a close friend of retired leader Fidel Castro.

People formed a long, snaking single-file line at Revolution Square to pay their respects to Chavez on Thursday, two days after he succumbed to cancer.

Some saluted an oversize photo of Chavez that was perched above a bed of white flowers and flanked by a military honor guard. A few wept.

Around the city, flags flew at half-staff.