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.
Mass media in Venezuela comprise the mass and niche news and information communications infrastructure of Venezuela. Thus, the media of Venezuela consist of several different types of communications media: television, radio, newspapers, magazines, cinema, and Internet-based news outlets and websites. Venezuela also has a strong music industry and arts scene.
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when it merged with several other parties to form the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), which he led until 2012.
Diosdado Cabello Rondón is a Venezuelan politician and current member of the National Assembly of Venezuela, where he previously served as Speaker. He is also an active member of the Venezuelan armed forces, with the rank of captain.
The Bolivarian Revolution is a political process in Venezuela that was led by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, the founder of the Fifth Republic Movement and later the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). The Bolivarian Revolution is named after Simón Bolívar, an early 19th-century Venezuelan revolutionary leader, prominent in the Spanish American wars of independence in achieving the independence of most of northern South America from Spanish rule. According to Chávez and other supporters, the Bolivarian Revolution seeks to build an inter-American coalition to implement Bolivarianism, nationalism and a state-led economy.
The current eight stars flag of Venezuela was introduced in 2006. The basic design includes a horizontal tricolour of yellow, blue, and red, dating to the original flag introduced in 1811, in the Venezuelan War of Independence.
Corporación Venezolana de Televisión or VTV is a state-run television station based in Caracas, Venezuela, which can be seen throughout the capital and surrounding areas on channel 8. Programs that can be seen on VTV included Aló Presidente and Telesur Noticias.
The Venezuelan coup attempt of February 1992 was an attempt to seize control of the government of Venezuela by the Hugo Chávez-led Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200 (MBR-200) that took place on 4 February 1992. The coup was directed against President Carlos Andrés Pérez and occurred in a period marked by economic liberalization reforms, which were attempted in order to decrease the country's level of indebtedness and had caused major protests and social unrest. Despite their failure to depose the government of Carlos Andrés, the February coup attempts brought Chávez into the national spotlight. Fighting during the coup resulted in the deaths of at least 143 people and possibly as many as several hundred.
Since 2 February 1999, Venezuela saw sweeping and radical shifts in social policy, moving away from the last governments officially embracing a free-market economy and liberalization reform principles and towards income redistribution and social welfare programs.
La Orchila Island is an island and a military base off the coast of Venezuela, north of Caracas. It has numerous beaches, including one where the sand is markedly pink.
Mission Robinson is one of the Bolivarian Missions implemented by Hugo Chávez in 2003.
José Félix Ribas was a Venezuelan independence leader and hero of the Venezuelan War of Independence.
The United Socialist Party of Venezuela is a far-left socialist political party which has been the ruling party of Venezuela since 2010. It was formed from a merger of some of the political and social forces that support the Bolivarian Revolution led by President Hugo Chávez.
Colombia–Venezuela relations refers to the diplomatic relations between the bordering countries of Colombia and Venezuela. The relationship has developed since the early 16th century, when Spanish empire colonizers created the Province of Santa Marta and the Province of New Andalucia. The countries share a history for achieving their independence under Simón Bolívar and becoming one nation—the Gran Colombia—which dissolved in the 19th century. Following then, the overall relationship between the two countries has vacillated between cooperation and bilateral struggle.
Bolibourgeoisie or Bolichicos are terms describing the new bourgeois created by the Venezuelan government of Hugo Chávez and Chavismo, made up of people who became rich under the Chávez administration. The term was coined by journalist Juan Carlos Zapata to "define the oligarchy that has developed under the protection of the Chávez government".
The level of corruption in Venezuela is very high by world standards and is prevalent throughout many levels of Venezuelan society. Discovery of oil in Venezuela in the early 20th century has worsened political corruption. The large amount of corruption and mismanagement in the country has resulted in severe economic difficulties, part of the crisis in Bolivarian Venezuela. According to Transparency International's 2021 Corruption Perception Index, Venezuela scored a 14 on a scale from 0 to 100. When ranked by score, Venezuela ranks number 177 among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked number 1 is perceived to have the most honest public sector.
Presidential elections were held in Venezuela on 7 October 2012 to choose a president for a six-year term beginning in January 2013.
On 30 April, during the Venezuelan presidential crisis, a group of several dozen military personnel and civilians joined Juan Guaidó in his call for an uprising against Nicolás Maduro as part of what he labeled "Operation Freedom". Reuters reported an "uneasy peace" by the afternoon of 30 April. During the uprising attempt, opposition leader Leopoldo López was freed from house arrest after being imprisoned for five years. The head of the Bolivarian Intelligence Service, Manuel Cristopher Figuera denounced the Maduro government and was dismissed from his position before going into hiding. At least 25 military men who opposed Maduro sought asylum at the Brazilian embassy in Caracas.
The Venezuelan coup attempt of November 1992 was an attempt to seize control of the government of Venezuela that took place on 27 November 1992. group of young military officers who were loyal to the Hugo Chávez-led Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200 (MBR-200), while Chávez was in prison for the February 1992 coup d'état attempt.
Coups d'état in Venezuela have occurred almost since the foundation of the Republic. Throughout the history of Venezuela, insurrections, uprisings, or military or civil revolutions were used to overthrow and replace governments. These coups were performed using force, intimidation, and pseudo-legal methods. Gradually with the consolidation of a democratic system in the country, coups became less and less common.
