Decree of War to the Death should not be confused with Guerra a muerte.
The Decree of War to the Death, in Spanish Decreto de Guerra a Muerte, was a decree issued by the South American leader Simón Bolívar which permitted murder and any atrocities whatsoever to be committed against civilians born in Spain, other than those actively assisting South American independence, and furthermore exonerated people from the Americas who had already committed such murders and atrocities.[1] The phrase "war to the death" was used as a euphemism for these atrocities.
The decree was an explicit "war of extermination" in Bolívar's attempt to maintain Venezuelan independence in the war with Spain, since he felt that the Spanish Army's use of atrocities against those who supported the First Republic of Venezuela had contributed decisively to its defeat.[2]
Bolívar promulgated the decree on June 15, 1813, in the Venezuelan city of Trujillo.
The decree states that it was created as a response to severe crimes and massacres by Spanish soldiers after the fall of the First Republic, in which Spanish leaders allegedly stole property and executed thousands of Republicans: "we could not indifferently watch the afflictions inflicted to you by the barbaric Spaniards, who have annihilated you with robbery and destroyed you with death, infringed the most solemn treaties and capitulations [a reference to the San Mateo Capitulation, 1812]; in one word, committed every crime, reducing the Republic of Venezuela to the most horrific desolation." It proclaimed that all Peninsular people in Spanish America who didn't actively participate in favor of its independence would be killed, and all South Americans would be spared, even if they had cooperated with the Spanish authorities.[3] (See below for full declaration). The document expressed concern over the suffering inflicted upon the Venezuelan populace and emphasized a commitment to safeguarding the interests of the country's elites, including those who had collaborated with Spanish authorities. It also outlined measures aimed at distinguishing between Peninsular individuals who actively supported independence and those who did not, with the intent of sparing South Americans from reprisals, regardless of their previous cooperation with Spanish authorities. Furthermore, the decree sought to redefine the conflict as an international war between Venezuela and Spain, thereby elevating its status from a regional rebellion to a recognized struggle for sovereignty.
This so-called Guerra a Muerte was widely practised on both sides, resulting in some extreme brutalities on both sides, such as the execution of Spanish prisoners in Caracas and La Guaira in February 1814, on orders from Bolívar himself, just before the collapse of the Second Republic of Venezuela, and the killing of several renowned citizens in New Granada by the royalist army under Pablo Morillo in 1815, 1816 and 1817.
The declaration remained in effect until November 26, 1820, when General Pablo Morillo met with Bolívar at Santa Ana de Trujillo to declare the war of independence a conventional war.