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Army History

The Venezuelan Army traces its origin from before the establishment of the republic to the Caribbean Indian resistance to Spanish colonization, and see themselves as the product of the mixing of the blood of valiant Spanish Conquistadors, brave Carribean Indians and later, the blacks imported into the nation. The Venezuelan Army believes itself a force for freedom.

A more defined beginning for the Venezuelan Army was the formation of Indian companies in the provinces of Barcelona and Cumaná in 1745. By 1754, the companies were formalized into a battalion out of necessity of the internal demands of the country. In the same time period, marine forces were deemed strategically important and pursued.

In 1777, the position of Captain-General of Venezuela was established, which has since become the political and territorial framework for present day Venezuela. Under this new post, the Venezuelan Army believes that the military adopted the qualities it retained into the 19th century. The colonial force was composed of Venezuelans who divided up commissions by social class and permanently adopted a policy that targeted the recruitment of the different races of the country.

The official date of the establishment of Venezuela's modern army is April 19th, 1810. The Venezuelan Army believes its creation came as part of the extraordinary event when the suffering colony of Spain broke free of its servitude and it honors those of all races, brown and Creole for their role in the Revolution. Specifically, Jose Felix Ribas, Venezuela's first Minister of Defense; Colonels Nicholas de Castro and Juan Pablo Ayala, and Captain Simon Bolivar.

In 1810 at a Supreme Junta of the Government, the Secretariat of the Office conferred onto Commander Don Lino de Clemente the functions of "Navy and War," and to Colonel Fernando del Toro, inspection duty for the military government. At the same meeting, Fernando del Toro was also placed in charge of the defense of the provinces of Venezuela. Additionally, Nicholas de Castro and Juan Pablo Ayala were selected as Commanders-in-Chief. Jose Salcedo was selected as Colonel of Artillery and Juan Pires, Colonel of Engineers. Don Antonio de Solorzano was placed in charge as the Commander of the Cavalry Squadron and Antonio Jose Urbina was selected as Commander of the Battalion of Veterans. Captain Don Jose de Sata y Bussy was chosen to act as the secretary of the military meeting. Later that year, the Supreme Junta established a military academy for the creation of an officer corps.

The Supreme Junta had to deal with a revolt by influential Guayana and the province of Coro, both of which declared their unconditional loyalty to the Spanish crown on April 19th. Brigadier General Francisco Rodriguez del Toro was sent to Coro with an army to put down the revolt. The campaign, however, failed. The region defiantly declared its Independence in July of 1811. A year later, a second expedition under the command of Lieutenant General Francisco Miranda was defeated at San Mateo by Spanish forces commanded by Juan Domingo Monteverde.

After Liberator Simón Bolivar's Admirable Campaign and successful expedition to Chacachacare to wrest back control of Santiago Mariño, the history of the revolution was filled with episode after episode of bloody battles, combat, and other actions, of which the Venezuelan poet Eduardo Blanco memorialized with his work,"Heroic Venezuela." On June 24th, 1821, the question of Venezuela's independence was settled once and for all upon what the Venezuelans refer to as the immortal Savannahs of Carabobo, where the Army of Liberation emerged victorious against the Spanish. Prior to its victory in 1821, the Liberation Army had won the freedom of New Granada with the Passage of the Andes by Bolivar's army that was followed by a series of battles that culminated in the Battle of the Bridge of Boyacá on August 7th, 1919. Then, from Carabobo, Bolivar proceded south and fulfilled his plan to bring independence to Ecuador, Peru, and the establishment of Bolivia.

Following 1830, hundreds of movements occurred in Venezuela which concerned the rise of caudillismo. This came to a stop in the 20th century with the new institutionalization of the Army and the Navy. As the Army evolved, it lead to the creation of the Veneuzelan Air Force and the National Guard. The Army quickly developed to the forefront of the armed services between 1945 and 1958. In 1975, the reorganization plan "CARABOBO" was implemented which redistributed resources to further allow the fulfillment of the mission and objectives of the Venezuelan Army, which also calls itself, the "Forger of Freedoms."