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Floridian Sues Venezuela To Regain His Lock Of Liberator Simón Bolívar 's Hair

Florida resident Ricardo Devengoechea had what the Venezuelans needed: an actual lock of Simón Bolivar's hair that could be used to authenticate the bones stashed in Caracas' National Pantheon.  Reportedly, he lent them the hair, the match was made and Bolívar's certified skull was used to make the  digital facial image that you see on this page. But then, Ricardo says in this Reuters story, Venezuela refused to return the hair or any of the other items it borrowed. 

Allegedly among the items were Bolívar's hair - which was used by Venezuelan officials to verify the authenticity of his remains in Venezuela - documents and letters, some written by Bolívar, and epaulets from one of Napoleon Bonaparte's uniforms. Devengoechea said he loaned them to Venezuela when he was approached by government officials in 2007 after President Hugo Chavez ordered an investigation into how Bolívar died.

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