| Unit Name: | Bolivarian Army |
| Native Name: | Spanish; Castilian: Ejército Bolivariano |
| Type: | Army |
| Role: | To protect and guarantee the permanent sovereignty of the nation against any external, or internal threats. |
| Size: | 115,000 (2021)[1] |
| Command Structure: | National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela |
| Patron: | Our Lady of Mount Carmel |
| Motto: | "Forger of liberties" |
| Colors: | Blue, Red |
| March: | Venezuelan National Army Hymn (Himno del Ejercito Nacional Bolivariano de Venezuela) |
| Anniversaries: | 24 June, Army Day and anniversary of the Battle of Carabobo |
| Battles: | |
| Commander1: | General-in-Chief Vladimir Padrino López |
| Commander1 Label: | Minister of the People's Power for Defense of the Republic of Venezuela |
| Commander2: | General-in-chief Domingo Hernández Lárez |
| Commander2 Label: | Commandant of the Operational Strategic Command |
| Commander3: | Major General José Antonio Murga Baptista |
| Commander3 Label: | Commanding General, Venezuelan Army |
| Commander4: | Divisional General Pascualino Angiolillo Fernández |
| Commander4 Label: | Inspector General, Venezuelan Army |
| Commander5: | Divisional General Francisco Antonio Espinoza Guyón |
| Commander5 Label: | Chief of Staff, Venezuelan Army |
| Notable Commanders: | |
| Identification Symbol Label: | Flag |
The Bolivarian Army of Venezuela (Spanish; Castilian: Ejército Bolivariano), is the land arm of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela.[2] Also known as Bolivarian Army (Ejército Bolivariano, EB), 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 (Milicia Bolivariana, MB).
Its current commander is Major General José Murga Baptista.[3] The army depends directly on the Ministry of Popular Power for Defense, under the orders of the general commander and the president of the Republic in his position as commander in chief of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces. It is divided into six combat arms and four commands; operations, logistics, education and Army Aviation.
The command officers, troop officers, technicians and military surgeons belonging to the Venezuelan Army are graduates of the military academies of the Bolivarian Military University of Venezuela and are commissioned with the rank of Second Lieutenant, the academies are as follows:
Unlike most of the officer corps the sergeants (professional NCOs) and recruits completing basic training, as well as Army officer candidates of civilian background, study in separate schools.[4]
The Venezuelan Army marks its birth by its victory in the Battle of Carabobo on 24 June 1821 over the Empire of Spain, which led to the independence of the nation. It later contributed to the independence of the present-day countries of Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Bolivia.
With the beginning of the independence movement on 19 April 1810 and the subsequent war in the country, a military academy was created in 1810 by decree of the Supreme Board of Caracas for the training of officers for the Republican cause. The Royalist reaction was fast and by 1812 the First Republic was dissolved. A war to the death begun (guerra a muerte), with neither side giving quarter. On 11 April 1817, 1,800 Republicans under General Píer won a major victory against the Royalists at San Félix (southeast of Caracas), where the revolutionaries defeated 1,500 Royalists under General Nicolás María Cerruti. The Royalists suffered 593 dead and 497 captured, of whom 160 peninsulares (Spaniards born in the Iberian Peninsula). All of the Spaniards were decapitated. The Republicans lost 31 dead and 65 wounded.
The war continued until 1824 with successes and failures on each side. On 7 August 1819, the army of New Granada, under the command of the Liberator Simón Bolívar, defeats the Royalist troops under the command of General José María Barreiro in the Battle of Boyacá, being the first republic of the so-called Bolivarianas (Bolivarians) to obtain their independence of the Kingdom of Spain; a day that also celebrates the Colombian Army.
The liberating army, whose central nucleus are the infantry battalions of Rifles, Voltígeros, Vencedores, the British Legion, plus the contingents of the lancers Bravos de Apure of General José Antonio Páez, and whose contingents are made up mainly of Colombian-Venezuelan troops under the supreme leadership of Bolívar, are now waging the Venezuelan campaign as part of Gran Colombia. On 24 June 1821, the Republicans obtained a decisive victory over the Royalists in the battle at Campo de Carabobo, and today is celebrated as the day of the Venezuelan Army.
After the Battle of Carabobo, the remnants of the Royalist armies that managed to escape from the battlefield took refuge in Puerto Cabello, while in the east they did the same in Cumaná. Cumaná was taken shortly after by the Republicans, but the heavily fortified city of Puerto Cabello resisted under siege until 1823, during which time it served as the base for the Spanish reconquest of territories in western Venezuela.
Afterwards, these troops take part in the Southern Campaign under the command of Marshal Antonio José de Sucre, and went on to liberate Ecuador in the Battle of Pichincha, Peru in the Battle of Junín, and Alto Peru (today Bolivia) in the Battle of Ayacucho.
After the army fought in the Gran Colombia–Peru War (1828-1829), and once Venezuela separated from Gran Colombia in 1830, the country went through periods of great instability and civil wars throughout the 19th century, which led to the end of the professional army and in its place emerged the figure of the regional leader (caudillo) who organized their montoneras (irregular militia) to fight in internal civil wars.
This precarious situation ended when in 1899 Cipriano Castro took power as president and once again lays the foundations for a professional army, which his successor Juan Vicente Gómez deepens.
The army followed a growing line of modernization and professionalization throughout the 20th century, under the Prussian model. After the death of Gómez and the instability that followed, the army took sides in the politics of the time, with a dominance of militaristic sectors in the country's politics in the period 1940-1958, with the army carrying out three coups d'état in 1945, 1948 and in 1958 ending the dictatorship of General Marcos Pérez Jiménez, within the framework of the Cold War.
With the overthrow of the Pérez Jiménes and the return to democracy, the most significant actions that involved the army were the combat of the Marxist-Leninist guerrillas of the Armed Forces of National Liberation (Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional, FALN), made up of activists from the Communist Party of Venezuela and the Revolutionary Left Movement (Movimiento de Izquierda Revolucionaria, MIR) that were heavily active throughout the 60's; as well as the deployment of Venezuelan troops in the ONUCA peacekeeping mission in Nicaragua.
Other missions undertaken by the army where the repression of looting of private property during the "Caracazo" protests in February 1989 and the failed coups by future president Colonel Hugo Chávez in April and November 1992.
In the 21st century, the Venezuelan Army has experienced unprecedented growth, incorporating war a big influx of material, mostly from Russia, in almost all segments of its arsenal, allowing an almost total modernization of the force. In the last three decades, it has had to face the spillover into Venezuela of the Colombian internal conflict; and sometimes being put on alert due to tensions between Caracas and Bogotá.[5] [6]
The National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela is the 4th largest military in Latin America, behind Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.[7]
Its mission, as the ground forces of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela, is to:
In accordance with the Article 9 of the National Armed Forces Organic Law as amended, the functions of the Army are to
Chorus
Adelante marchemos, valientes, al combate y al rudo fragor
por la patria muy altas las frentes, despleguemos pujanza y valor.
Por la patria muy altas las frentes, despleguemos pujanza y valor.
Nuestra sangre es la savia del pueblo y en el pueblo se plasma en canción
es la rosa más pura del viento que en la historia da brillo a la acción,
En las aguas, el aire y la tierra la victoria es el alba inmortal,
si sublime es el triunfo en la guerra, preservemos la gloria y la paz.
Chorus
Y si el brazo extranjero se atreve a infamar de este suelo el honor
antes muerte mil veces nos llegue que rendirnos al torpe invasor,
pues de todas las patrias que el cielo diera al hombre en morada de amor,
es la nuestra el más hondo desvelo en el sueño de un mundo mejor.
Chorus
See also: List of equipment of the Venezuelan Army.
The Venezuelan Army is divided into 4 main commands and 6 army divisions as well as other independent units reporting to Headquarters, Venezuelan Army. The Army's Air Defense Artillery Brigades also report directly, as part of the Venezuelan Air Force Air Defense Forces Command, to the Operational Strategic Command for national defense purposes in air defense matters.
99th Army Special Operations Brigade[8]
The 79th Andes Air Defense Artillery Brigade reports directly to the Operational Strategic Command, while being in the 2ID's territorial jurisdiction.
Since 2016 the newly created 34th CCB reports also to the Operational Strategic Command.
| Commanding Generals of the Venezuelan Army | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Commanding General | Term in office | ||
| MGEN Francisco Rodríguez del Toro | April 1810– July 1811 | ||
| Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda | Jul 1811 – Aug. 1812 | ||
| Office of Commanding General of the Army was vacant from 1812 to January 1813. | |||
| GEN Santiago Mariño | Jan. 1813 – Jun. 1813 | ||
| GEN Simón Bolívar (first term) | May 1813 – Dec 1814 | ||
| Office of Commanding General of the Army was vacant from December 1814 to May 1815. | |||
| General in Chief José Tadeo Monagas | May 1815 | ||
| Office of Commanding General of the Army was vacant from May 1815 to May 1816. | |||
| GEN Simón Bolívar (second term) | May 1816 – Aug. 1821 | ||
| GEN Carlos Soublette | Ago. 1821 – Dic. 1822 | ||
| GEN José Antonio Páez | Dec. 1822 – Jan 1847 | ||
| General in Chief José Tadeo Monagas (2nd term) | May 1847 – May 1858 | ||
| GEN Santiago Mariño (acting) | Jun 1848 – August 1848 | ||
| GEN Julián Castro | March 1858 – August 1859 (acting till May 1858) | ||
| GEN Pedro E. Ramos | Aug 1859 – Dec 1859 | ||
| GEN León de Febres Cordero | Dec 1859 – May 1861 | ||
| GEN José Antonio Páez (2nd term) | May 1861 – Jul 1863 | ||
| GEN Juan Crisóstomo Falcón | Jul. 1863 – April 1868 | ||
| GEN León Colina (acting) | 1864 | ||
| GEN Antonio Guzmán Blanco (acting) | 1866 | ||
| GEN Manuel Ezequiel Bruzual | April 1868 – Jul. 1868 | ||
| GEN José Tadeo Monagas (3rd term) | Jul. 1868 – Nov. 1868 | ||
| GEN Juan Antonio Sotillo | Nov. 1868 – May 1869 | ||
| GEN José Ruperto Monagas | May 1869 – April 1870 | ||
| GEN Antonio Guzmán Blanco (2nd term) | April 1870 – Feb. 1877 | ||
| GEN Francisco Linares Alcántara | Feb. 1877 – Feb. 1879 | ||
| GEN José Gregorio Valera | Nov. 1878 – Feb. 1879 (acting till early February 1879) | ||
| GEN José Gregorio Cedeño | Feb. 1879 (acting, served 12 days) | ||
| GEN Antonio Guzmán Blanco (3rd term) | Feb. 1879 – May 1884 | ||
| GEN Joaquín Crespo | May 1884 – April 1886 | ||
| GEN Antonio Guzmán Blanco (4th term) | April 1886 – August 1887 | ||
| GEN Hermógenes López | August 1887 – June 1888 | ||
| Doctor Juan Pablo Rojas Paúl | Jul. 1888 – Mar. 1890 | ||
| Doctor Raimundo Andueza Palacio | Mar. 1890 – Oct. 1892 | ||
| GEN Joaquín Crespo (2nd term) | Oct. 1892 – Feb. 1898 | ||
| LTGEN Ignacio Andrade | Feb. 1898 – Oct. 1899 | ||
| LTGEN Cipriano Castro | Oct. 1899 – Nov. 1908 | ||
| LTGEN Juan Vicente Gómez | Nov. 1908 – Dec. 1935 | ||
| LTGEN Eleazar López Contreras | Dec. 1935 – May 1941 | ||
| MGEN Isaías Medina Angarita | May 1941 – Oct 1945 | ||
| LTCOL Carlos Delgado Chalbaud | Oct. 1945 – Nov. 1948 | ||
| LTCOL (later COL, BRIG and MGEN) Marcos Pérez Jiménez | Nov. 1948 – Aug 1954 | ||
| BRIG Hugo Fuentes | Aug 1954 – Dec. 1957 | ||
| BRIG Rafael Virgilio Vivas | Dec. 1957 – Jan. 1958 | ||
| Office of Commanding General of the Army was vacant from January 1958 to January 1959. | |||
| BRIG Marco A. Moros A. | Jan 1959 – Feb. 1960 | ||
| MGEN Pedro J. Quevedo D. | Feb. 1960 – Jul. 1964 | ||
| BRIG Pablo A. Flores A. | Jul. 1964 – Ene. 1968 | ||
| MGEN Roberto Morean Soto | Ene. 1968 – Feb. 1970 | ||
| MGEN Víctor M. Maldonado | Feb. 1970 – Sep. 1971 | ||
| MGEN Homero I. Leal T. | Sep. 1971 – Feb. 1973 | ||
| BRIG Juan Manuel Sucre Figarella | Feb. 1973 – April 1974 | ||
| MGEN Manuel I. Bereciartu P. | Apr. 1974 – Oct. 1975 | ||
| MGEN Víctor M. Molino V. | Oct. 1975 – Jun. 1977 | ||
| MGEN Ernesto Brandt T. | Jun. 1977 -Jun. 1978 | ||
| MGEN Arnaldo Castro | Jun. 1978 – May 1979 | ||
| MGEN Ángel V. Berrio Brito | May 1979 – Jun. 1979 | ||
| MGEN Tomás Abreu R. | Jun. 1979 – Jan. 1980 | ||
| MGen Rafael G. Marín. G. | Jan. 1980 – Jun. 1981 | ||
| MGEN Vicente L. Narváez O. | Jun. 1981 – Jun. 1982 | ||
| MGEN Luis Octavio Romero | Jun. 1982 – Jun. 1983 | ||
| MGEN Luís J. Silva Tirado | Jun. 1983 – Jun. 1984 | ||
| MGEN José A. Olavarría | Jun. 1984 – Jun. 1985 | ||
| MGEN José Humberto Vivas | Jun. 1985 – Jun. 1986 | ||
| MGEN Elidoro A. Guerrero | Jun. 1986 – Jun. 1987 | ||
| MGEN Italo del Valle Alliegro | Jun. 1987 – Jun. 1988 | ||
| MGEN José María Troconis Peraza | Jun. 1988 – Jun. 1989 | ||
| MGEN Carlos J. Peñaloza Z. | Jun. 1989 – Jun. 1991 | ||
| MGEN Pedro. R. Rangel R. | Jun. 1991 – Jun. 1993 | ||
| MGEN Jorge I. Tagliaferro De Lima | Jun. 1993 – Jan 1994 | ||
| MGEN Moisés A. Orozco Graterol | Feb 1994 – Dec 1994 | ||
| Office of Commanding General of the Army was vacant from December 1994 to January the following year. | |||
| MGEN Pedro N. Valencia V. | Jan. 1995 – Jul. 1996 | ||
| MGEN Pedro Hernández G. | Jul. 1996 – Jul. 1997 | ||
| MGEN Wilfredo J. Guerrero Z. | Jun. 1997 – Jul. 1998 | ||
| MGEN Rubén M. Rojas Pérez | Jul. 1998 – Feb. 1999 | ||
| MGEN Noel E. Martínez Ochoa | Feb. 1999 – Aug. 1999 | ||
| MGEN Lucas Rincón Romero* | Aug. 1999 – Jun. 2001 | ||
| MGEN Víctor A. Cruz Weffer | Jun. 2001 – Dec 2001 | ||
| BRIG (later MGEN) Efraín Vásquez Velasco | Dec. 2001 – Apr. 2002 | ||
| MGEN Julio J. García Montoya | April 2002 – Jan. 2003 | ||
| MGEN Jorge Luis García Carneiro* | Jan. 2003 – Jan. 2004 | ||
| MGEN Raúl Isaías Baduel* | Jan. 2004 – Jul. 2006 | ||
| MGEN Pedro Azuaje Apitz | Jul. 2006 – Jul. 2007 | ||
| LTGEN Carlos José Mata Figueroa* | Jul. 2007 – Mar. 2009 | ||
| LTGEN Juan Vicente Paredes Torrealba | Mar. 2009 – Jul. 2010 | ||
| LTGEN Euclides Campos Aponte | Jul. 2010 – Jul. 2012 | ||
| LTGEN Carlos Alcalá Cordones | Jul. 2012 – Jul. 2013 | ||
| LTGEN Alexis Ascension López Ramírez | Jul. 2012 – Jul. 2014 | ||
| LTGEN Gerardo Izquierdo Torres | Jul. 2014– July 2015 | ||
| LTGEN Juan de Jesús García Toussaintt | July 2015 – June 2017 | ||
| LTGEN Jesús Rafael Suárez Chourio | June 2017 – | ||
(*): Marks promotion to the rank of full General (and appointment as Minister of Defense) after serving term as Commanding General of the Army