""I see that Chavez's successor in Venezuela suggests that Chavez up in heaven had a lot to do with the selection...""

Not the first politician to make a "wacky claim".

Today, I heard a RC Bishop claim on Radio that it was not the cardinals who actually selected this Pope, but it was God who directly directed them, in one way or another, to make God's choice of the best Pope.

What's seems like a "wacky claim" to one person seems to be much like reality to another person :)