List of wars involving Venezuela

This list includes all major armed conflicts involving the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and its predecessor states from the 18th century to the present.

Table

War of Jenkins' Ear (War of the Austrian Succession):

• Battle of La Guaira – 1743
• Battle of Puerto Cabello – 1743

Anglo-Spanish War:

• Cutting out of the Hermione – 1799
• Invasion of Venezuela – 1806
• Battle of La Vela de Coro – 1806

War of 1812 (Sixty Years' War):

• Battle of La Guaira – 1812

Conflict	Allies	Opponents	Results	Major battles
Venezuelan War of Independence (1810–1823) Detail of The Battle of Carabobo (1887) by Martín Tovar y Tovar	Patriots 1810: Caracas Junta 1811–1816: Venezuela Colombia 1816–1819: Venezuela Haiti [1] 1819–1823: Gran Colombia	Royalists Spain Supreme Junta Governorate of Venezuela Governorate of Colombia	Patriot victory Independence of Gran Colombia Dismemberment of the Spanish Empire	Battle of La Victoria – 1812 Battle of Alto de los Godos – 1813 Battle of Niquitao – 1813 – Admirable Campaign Battle of Los Horcones – 1813 – Admirable Campaign Battle of Taguanes – 1813 – Admirable Campaign Battle of Araure – 1813 Battle of La Victoria – 1814 Battle of San Mateo – 1814 Battle of Carabobo – 1814 Battle of Urica – 1814 Battle of San Félix – 1817 Battle of Matasiete – 1817 Battle of Las Queseras del Medio – 1819 Battle of Carabobo – 1821 Battle of Lake Maracaibo – 1823
Spanish Reconquest of New Granada (1815–1816)	United Provinces of New Granada	Kingdom of Spain	Spanish victory Reestablishment of the Viceroyalty of New Granada
Liberation Campaign of New Granada (1819–1820)	Venezuela New Granada British Legions	Spain	Victory Liberation of New Granada by Independentists
Ecuadorian War of Independence (1820–1822)	Patriots: Guayaquil Gran Colombia Chile Peru United Provinces	Royalists: Spanish Empire Viceroyalty of Peru Real Audiencia of Quito	Patriot victory Annexation of the territory to Gran Colombia
Gran Colombia–Peru War (1828–1829)	Gran Colombia	Peru	Stalemate Larrea-Gual Treaty * Peruvian invasion lost momentum after the Battle of Tarqui; Peru maintained supremacy at sea after the fall of Guayaquil. Coup d'état against President La Mar Colombian troops driven out of Bolivia Peruvian recognition of the Colombian annexation of Guayaquil Implicit Colombian recognition of Peruvian sovereignty over Tumbes, Jaen, and Maynas Status quo ante bellum
Federal War (1859–1863) Combat of Maiquetía, during the beginning of the Federal War, 2 September 1859	Conservative Government	Federalists	Federalist victory Treaty of Coche Establishment of a Federalist government	Battle of Santa Inés – 1859 Battle of Coplé – 1860 Battle of Buchivacoa – 1862
Venezuelan crisis of 1902–1903 (1902–1903) A cover of the "Le Petit Parisien" depicting the bombardment of Castle San Carlos	Venezuela Supported by: United States Argentina	United Kingdom   France   Germany   Italy Supported by: Spain Mexico Belgium Netherlands Denmark	Compromise Venezuelan debt dispute resolved European fleet withdraws
Dutch–Venezuelan crisis of 1908 (1908) HNLMS Gelderland, the Dutch cruiser that successfully captured two Venezuelan gunboats in Venezuelan territorial waters	Venezuela	Netherlands	Dutch victory HNLMS Gelderland captures Venezuelan gunboats Alexis and 23 de Mayo Dutch blockade of Venezuela's coast
World War II (unofficial: 1942–1945; officially in 1945) [a] Venezuelan gunboat General Urdaneta, which assisted in rescuing the crews of several torpedoed vessels during Operation Neuland	Allies United States Soviet Union United Kingdom   China France Poland Canada Australia New Zealand   India   South Africa   Yugoslavia   Greece Denmark Norway Netherlands Belgium Luxembourg   Czechoslovakia Brazil Mexico Chile Bolivia Colombia Ecuador Paraguay Peru Venezuela Uruguay Argentina	Axis   Germany   Japan   Italy   Hungary   Romania   Bulgaria Croatia Slovakia   Finland   Thailand   Manchukuo   Mengjiang	Allied victory Fall of Nazi Germany, the Empire of Japan, and Fascist Italy Creation of the United Nations Emergence of the United States and Soviet Union as superpowers Beginning of the Cold War
Machurucuto Incident (1967)	Venezuelan National Guard Venezuelan Army	Revolutionary Left Movement Cuban guerrillas Supported by: Cuba	Venezuelan government victory Cuban expedition fails.
Operation Southern Spear (2025–present)	Venezuela [2] Cartel of the Suns (alleged by the United States) [b] Supported by: Cuba [12] Russia [13]	United States Supported by: Dominican Republic Trinidad and Tobago	Ongoing US military buildup in the Caribbean Capture of Nicolás Maduro	Various US strikes on vessels (list) – 2025 US seizure of Skipper – 2025 US seizure of Centuries – 2025 US strike on port in Venezuela – 2025 Operation Absolute Resolve – 2026

See also

• Venezuela during World War I

Notes

1. Venezuelan waters were one of the scenarios of the Battle of the Caribbean. Venezuela formally declared war on the Axis powers in February 1945.
2. While the involvement of various Venezuelan government and military officials with drug cartels has been documented, ^[6] independent experts dispute the existence of an organised cartel run by these officials. ^[11]

References

1. Arana, M., 2013, Bolivar, New York: Simon & Schuster, ISBN   9781439110195, pp. 186
2. Samuels, Brett (16 December 2025). "Trump labels Maduro regime terrorist organization, orders blockade of sanctioned oil tankers". The Hill. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
3. Pierson, Brendan (14 December 2017). "Nephews of Venezuela's first lady sentenced to 18 years in U.S. drug case". Reuters . Retrieved 17 September 2025.
4. Ramsey, Geoff; Smilde, David (March 2020). Beyond the narcostate narrative — What U.S. Drug Monitoring Data Says About Venezuela (PDF) (Report). Washington D.C., United States: Washington Office on Latin America.
5. Kenney, Chelsa (3 July 2023). Venezuela: Illicit Financial Flows and U.S. Efforts to Disrupt Them (PDF) (Report). Washington D.C., United States: United States Government Accountability Office . Retrieved 17 September 2025.
6. ^{[3] [4] [5]}
7. "US targets Venezuela over 'Soles' cartel. Does it exist?". France24. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
8. Pozzebon, Stefano (1 September 2025). "Trump claims Venezuela's Maduro is a drug-trafficking threat to the US. Does the data back him up?". CNN. Archived from the original on 1 September 2025. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
9. Paredes, Norberto (24 November 2025). "What is Cartel de los Soles, which the US is labelling as a terrorist organisation?". BBC. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
10. "US targets Venezuela over 'Soles' cartel. Does it exist?". France24. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
11. ^{[7] [8] [9] [10]}
12. Kurmanaev, Anatoly (18 November 2025). "Can Venezuela Count on Any Allies to Help if the U.S. Attacks?". The New York Times. ProQuest   3272673204 . Retrieved 20 December 2025.
13. Altman, Howard (4 November 2025). "Moscow Just Gave Venezuela Air Defenses, Not Ruling Out Strike Missiles: Russian Official". TheWarZone.com. Retrieved 19 December 2025.