SNL & Justin Timberlake "mourn" Hugo Chavez in hilarious opening (VIDEO)

Last night's Saturday Night Live episode opened with a sort of dark sequence in which host Justin Timberlake mocked the late president of Venezuela Hugo Chavez. Honestly, though, if was pretty hilarious. Fred Armisen, in a really good Venezulan accent (his mom hails from Venezuela, after all), played vice-president Nicolas Maduro introducing Sir Elton John, played Timberlake (who was, by the way, hosting the show for the fifth time).

What ensued was hilarious--at least I think so! Read on to find out what happened and watch a video.

The song was "Candle in the Wind" modified to mock the departed Latin American president. He warns: "Everything in this song is true." Starting with the incident when Chavez called President George W. Bush the devil and saying he smelled like sulfur when he spoke at the U.N., to when he claimed that capitalism had killed the civilization that one day existed on Mars. "You helped to make your country the kidnapping capital of the world," but on the bright side, "you also increased milk production by almost 50 percent."

Read more ¿Qué más?: Chris Brown's rant about "how to talk to a woman" is a disgusting machista mess (NSFW VIDEO)

Whatever your thoughts on Hugo Chavez and his politics, you have to admit that he was a truly polarizing figure. And it was clear what side of the fence SNL was on: "You were hero to your people and you never gave up a fight. We'll Miss you Hugo Chavez, because … Live from New York its' Saturday Night," Timberlake ended his "tribute."

It's crazy to think that everything Timberlake's song mentioned was all true (even the fact that Chavez once said the U.S. was responsible for earthquakes). It's no surprise that while some respected the dead leader, others (myself included I have to admit) actually think he was a pretty crappy president, to put it lightly. And in the end, the skit was all in fun.

Watch the video below:

Image via YouTube