Army Lt. Col. Hugo Chavez, who led a 1992 attempted coup, speaks to reporters on March 26, 1994, after he was freed from jail. Chavez was freed after charges were dropped against him for leading the first of two attempted coups against the government of former President Carlos Andres Perez, who was later removed from office.
(CNN) -- Venezeula has decided not to embalm the body of its late president, Hugo Chavez, Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said on Friday in a Twitter message.
The initial plan was to have Chavez's embalmed body displayed much like the remains of former revolutionary leaders Vladimir Lenin of Russia and China's Mao Zedong. But the embalming was ruled out, Villegas said, after a report from a Russian medical panel.
"The Russian medical commission established that in order to do the procedure, the body would have to be transported to Russia and remain there for seven to eight months," he said.
Scientists in a preliminary assessment have determined that the process might be "quite difficult," acting President Nicolas Maduro said Wednesday.
Scientists will study possible Chavez poisoning
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pays tribute to late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez during the funeral in Caracas, Venezuela, on Friday, March 8.
Photos: Hugo Chavez's funeral
He said at the opening of the Book Fair of Venezuela that scientists argued that "the decision should have been taken much earlier."
Chavez died this month, at 58, after a battle with cancer.
Venezuelan elections are scheduled for April 14.
What's behind the display of embalmed world leaders?
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Venezuelan president-elect Chavez visits Bogota, Colombia, on December 18, 1998. On December 6, Chavez had been elected the youngest president in Venezuela history.
President Chavez greets supporters with his then-wife, Marisabel Rodriguez de Chavez, beside him as he arrives to preside over a parade in his honor on February 4, 1999, in Caracas. Chavez was sworn in as president on February 2.
Chavez inspects military maneuvers of the national Air Force on March 17, 2001, in Catilletes near the border with Colombia. In June 2000, Chavez was re-elected to the presidency for a six-year term, under the new constitution created by his government in 1999.
People try to take shelter from gunshots fired near Altamira Square in Caracas on August 16, 2004. At least three people were wounded by gunshots after Chavez supporters fired on opposition demonstrators, police said. A vote to recall Chavez as president failed on August 15.
Chavez, left, stands in front of supporters with Fidel Castro of Cuba, center, and Evo Morales of Bolivia, right, during a rally at the Plaza de la Revolucion in Havana, Cuba, on April 29, 2006.
Chavez meets with Pope Benedict XVI at his private library on May 11, 2006, in Vatican City.
Chavez embraces Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, right, in Tehran, Iran, on July 1, 2007. The two presidents have enjoyed a close relationship and Chavez has referred to Ahmadinejad as his "ideological brother."
Chavez speaks during a rally in Caracas on November 18, 2008. Chavez pushed to change term limits in Venezuela through a referendum that passed on February 15, 2009, clearing the way for him to run for a third six-year term.
Chavez, right, gives a copy of the book, "The Open Veins of Latin America" by Eduardo Galeano to President Barack Obama during a multilateral meeting at the Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad, on April 18, 2009.
Chavez, right, greets Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during his visit to the presidential palace in Caracas on April 2, 2010.
Chavez salutes to the audience after passing a law in Caracas on November 12, 2011. Chavez has undergone several rounds of cancer treatment in Cuba, beginning in 2011.
Chavez participates in a ceremony at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas on January 27, 2012.
Chavez, left, jokes with American actor Sean Penn, right, during his visit to Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas on February 16, 2012. Penn thanked Chavez for the support given by the Venezuelan government to his nongovernmental organization, which benefits victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
Chavez acknowledges supporters on the streets of Caracas while on his way to the airport to travel to Cuba for ongoing cancer treatment on February 24, 2012.
Chavez gestures to the crowd during his closing campaign rally in Caracas on October 4, 2012. The leftist leader won a fourth term on October 7, extending his presidency to 2019.
A handout picture released by the Venezuelan presidential press office on Friday, February 15, 2013, shows Chavez surrounded by his daughters and holding the February 14 edition of the official Cuban newspaper Granma at a hospital in Havana, Cuba.
Supporters of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez attend an open-air mass in Caracas on February 22.
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko and his son Nikolay stand next to the coffin of Chavez during the funeral on March 8.
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, right, talks to Elena Frias, Chavez's mother, on March 8.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, center, waves alongside Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs Elias Jaua outside of the funeral of the President Hugo Chavez in Caracas, on March 8.
Supporters of Chavez gather as they wait for a chance to view his body on March 8.
A Chavez supporter weeps outside of his funeral in Caracas on March 8.
Bolivian President Evo Morales, center, waves next to former Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo outside of the funeral on March 8.
Supporters of Chavez hold a portrait of him as they wait for a chance to view his body at the military academy in Caracas on March 8.
Spanish Crown Prince Felipe, center, arrives at Maiquetia Airport in Caracas on March 8.
A man adjusts a banner before the start of Chavez's funeral outside the Military Academy.
A woman wraps up in Venezuela's flag to stay warm as she and others wait in line before the start of Chavez's funeral.
Cuban President Raul Castro salutes Chavez's body as he visits the wake with Chavez's daughter, Rosa Virginia, right, and Venezuela's Vice President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday, March 7.
Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa views Chavez's body with his wife Anne Malherbe, right, on March 7.
Peruvian President Ollanta Humala, center, views Chavez's body with his wife, Nadine Heredia, second left, on March 7.
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, center, views Chavez's body with his wife, Rosario Murillo, second left, on March 7.
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