The National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela are controlled by the Commander-in-Chief and a civilian Minister of Defense. In addition to the army, navy, and air force there is also a national guard and national militia primarily focused on internal security.
The military career of Hugo Chávez spans the seventeen years (1975–1992) that the later President of Venezuela spent in the Venezuelan army. Leader of the "Bolivarian Revolution", Chávez is known for his social democratic governance, his promotion of Latin American integration, and his criticisms of neoliberal globalization and United States foreign policy.
The Bolivarian Forces of Liberation is a communist guerrilla organization operating in Venezuela. The group claims to fight for Bolivarianism, a left-wing, South American ideology. The group was formerly known as the Bolivarian Forces of Liberation – Liberation Army, but they have not attached the suffix to their name in recent years.
The Venezuelan Army, officially the National Army of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is one of the six professional branches of the Armed Forces of Venezuela. Also known as Bolivarian Army, its role is to be responsible for land-based operations against external or internal threats that may put the sovereignty of the nation at risk. The army is the second largest military branch of Venezuela after the Bolivarian Militia.
The Universidad Bolivariana de Venezuela is a state university in Venezuela founded in 2003 by decree of President Hugo Chávez.
Bolivarian Military Aviation is a professional armed body designed to defend Venezuela's sovereignty and airspace. It is a service component of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela.
The Bolivarian National Guard of Venezuela, also called the Armed Forces of Cooperation, is one of the four components of the National Armed Forces of Venezuela. The national guard can serve as gendarmerie, perform civil defense roles, or serve as a reserve light infantry force. The national guard was founded on 4 August 1937 by the then President of the Republic, General-in-Chief Eleazar López Contreras. The motto of the GNB is "El Honor es su divisa", slightly different from the motto of the Spanish Civil Guard "El Honor es mi divisa".
A new law approved in July 2008 changed the military ranks of Venezuela, principally with regard to names, functions and commanding regulation of the armed forces. The law was sanctioned by Venezuela's National Assembly.
The Bolivarian Militia of Venezuela, is a militia branch of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela. Its headquarters is at the National Military Museum, Fort Montana, Caracas. The Commanding General of the National Militia is Major General Carlos Augusto Leal Tellería, Venezuelan Army, as of March 2018. The National Militia celebrates its anniversary every April 13 yearly.
The National Experimental University of the Armed Forces is a Venezuelan public university associated with the Venezuelan armed forces. Founded in 1974 by the former president Rafael Caldera as the National Armed Forces Higher Polytechnical Institution, it was renamed by the Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez in 1999.
The Military Academy of the Bolivarian Army, is an academy to train members of the officer corps of the National Army of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. It is also the oldest military academy in the country and one of the oldest in Latin America, having been founded on September 2, 1810.
The Military Academy of the Bolivarian Navy, is an academy to train future officers of the Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela. Established in 1811, it is Venezuela's and America's oldest existing naval academy. At the end of training, the successful naval cadet graduates as an Officer of the Navy, and is commissioned to the military rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade.
The National Guard Military Academy, opened in 1936, is a military academy training future officers of the Venezuelan National Guard. It shares its campus in Caracas's Fort Tiuna with the Military Academy of the Bolivarian Army.
The Bolivarian Military Technical Academy COL Juan Vicente Bolívar y Ponte, is an academy to train officers of technical and administrative services in the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela.
The Military Academy of Troop Officers Commander in Chief Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías, is a military academy to train officers of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela within basic command echelons. It is also one of the two youngest component academies of the Bolivarian Military University of Venezuela, opened on June 1, 2012. Unlike the rest of the academies, the TOMC is a joint service academy, only serving experienced corporals and junior ranked NCOs with a potential to become officers of the Armed Forces. Also, up until 2019 it had a three year study term instead of the four of the other academies.
The Cartel of the Suns is a Venezuelan organization supposedly headed by high-ranking members of the Armed Forces of Venezuela who are involved in international drug trade. According to Héctor Landaeta, journalist and author of Chavismo, Narco-trafficking and the Military, the phenomenon began when Colombian drugs began to enter into Venezuela from corrupt border units and the "rot moved its way up the ranks."
The José Antonio Casanova Stadium is a multipurpose sports facility in Venezuela. The stadium is located within the military base of Fort Tiuna, itself located between Coche and El Valle parishes, both south of the Libertador Municipality, southwest of Caracas.
Independence Day, also known as the Fifth of July is the national independence holiday of Venezuela, marked every year on July 5 which celebrates the anniversary since the enactment of the 1811 Venezuelan Declaration of Independence, making the country the first Spanish colony in South America to declare independence. In recent years, it is also marked as National Armed Forces Day to honor the faithful service of all the serving men and women and veterans of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela.
The Presidential Honor Guard is the military brigade responsible for the immediate security of the president of Venezuela. The current head of the Presidential Honor Guard is Iván Hernández Dala.
José Luis Silva Silva is a Venezuelan military officer who is an Colonel of the Venezuelan National Guard. He currently serves as Defense Attaché of the Embassy at the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the United States of America in Washington D.C.. During the Venezuelan presidential crisis in January 2019, Colonel Silva was the first active command officer who recognized National Assembly President Juan Guaidó as interim President of Venezuela.
