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Guardia Nacional Bolivaria (GNB) - History

On March 10th, 1810, the Supreme Junta of Caracas recommended the creation of a military unit to safeguard and protect the Congress. It was created on March 9th, 1811, with the establishment of a National Guard company. Later on July 26th, the National Guard were attributed a wider mission into the country to protect land owners from crime and robberies. Due to the failure of the first republic this beginning of the National Guard is forgotten for lack of sources. Nevertheless, in 1820, the Guard returned to grow in the Independence movement with the triumpth of arms at Carabobo. However, as time passed, the Gran Columbia that Bolivar dreamed of fragmented and the countryside convulsed with fratricidal wars between Spain and each other. The National Guard disappeared then, in 1839.

Under the Presidency of General Jose Antonio Páez, on May 4th, 1841, the creation of a new National Guard was executed. The Guard's mission was to be in charge of the security and order, particularly in the countryside, and in addition have the complementary functions to watch and guard prisoners, to protect the lives of Venezuelans and their propert, and to prevent crime. But, history was repeated once again, and the nation found itself unable to pay the expenses of the National Guard and on March 12th, 1847, the National Guard was once again dissolved.

Ninety years passed. Over that time, the Republic confronted inumerable political upheavals, civil wars, and the rise and disappearance of caudillos as the situation varied. The developement of the oil industry in 1925 boosted the country to a new economic, cultural, and social height, and thus, became integral to the development of the country.

New thoughts and ideas were on the horizon for Venezulea, but at that moment, the country took an abrupt turn in the political spectrum. On December 17th, 1935, General Juan Vicente Gomez, who had governed as an iron handed dictator for twenty-seven years, died in the city of Maracay.

General Eleazar Lopez Contreras of the Ministry of War and Navy, assumed the Presidency of the Republic. Under his motto,"Calm and Sanity," Contreras controlled the political field of the situation, yet nevertheless, there were riots in the streets, and outbreaks of cattle rustling, organized crime, increased delinquency, and smuggling. Thus, the President went to the govenors of the Venezuelan states to urge them to understand the necessity to create among the states an active police force for the countryside on horse, on foot, or in vehicle, to preserve the safety of Venezuelan homes, gurantee indivial liberties and property.

In order to prepare for the creation of a national police institution, whose mission would be to safeguard the public order, it was necessary to decide how best to organize suitable human resources to meet the aforementioned objective. After long controversial debate on how to structure the institution, Don Rufino Blanco Fombona (poet, writer, and diplomat), suggested to General Lopez Contreras to create a force similiar to the Spanish Civil Guard. In June of 1936, the governments of Venezuela and Spain agreed to a mission under which Spanish authorities would travel to Venezuela to help establish and instruct a force similiar to the Spanish Civil Guard. This mission fruititioned on September 17th, 1936, with the creation of the school for the National Service of Security.

In October, 1936, the School of National Police was officially inaugurated at the mansion "Villa Zoila," the former presidential residence of General Cipriano Castro. Villa Zoila had accomindations for 136 students and was under the direction of Colonel Aniceto Cubillan. Course work represented the first year workings of the school. The student population broke down to 100 students training for the National Guard and 36 for Investigation, who the next year became civil employees of the Service of Security. In the same month, the instructors from the Spanish Civil Guard arrived and were composed of: Captain Cecilio Marrero Suarez, Sergeant Major Ramon Ayape, and civilians, Gregorio Rajal and Martin Cabanilla. These men added to the expertise of the National Guard and set the standards of professionalism for future members of the institution.

The personnel formed, the foundations set for the new institution to meet the dynamic demands of the nation, it is safe assume that the decree of September 17th, 1936, which created the National Service of Security school, was the historical starting point for the human resources that composed the National Guard. However, the National Guard was not legally created until the Decree of August 4th, 1937, which gave the National Guard jurisdiction throughout the country to accomplish its set goals, to maintain order and defend the borders of the republic.

From this moment the institution becomes operative throughout the national territory, carrying out the tasks entrusted to it, maintaining public order and safeguarding our borders, reaffirmed once again when the Bolivarian National Guard was given a rank Constitutional law in the year 1999.

President Chavez proposed significant "socialist" changes to the 1999 Constitution in a lengthy 15 August 2007 speech at the National Assembly. He specified that the Armed Forces would be composed of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and the Territorial Guard (currently called National Guard) and the "Popular Bolivarian Militia" (currently called the Military Reserve). Chavez proposal would convert the National Guard into "an essentially military body," parallel to the traditional branches of the armed forces.