Wars, Conflicts, and Coups of Venezuela

Wars, Conflicts, and Coups of Venezuela

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Venezuela is a Spanish-speaking nation on the northern coast of South America. The leader of Venezuela from 1999-2013 was Hugo Chavez, a self-styled Socialist who allied Venezuela to Cuba and was proclaimed foe of the United States and world capitalism. Chavez engaged in a political and diplomatic conflict with Venezuela’s neighbor, Colombia for several years. Following Chavez’s death in 2013, Nicolas Maduro became president, continueing the socialist agenda. The nation has been rocked by protests and a prolonged political and economic crisis for the past several years.

Flag of Venezuela

Flag of Venezuela

 

List of wars and conflicts involving Venezuela:

Venezuelan War of Independence (1811-1823)–After a long conflict, involving several campaigns, battles between competing Venezuelan forces, and against Spanish forces, independence from Spain was achieved. Venezuela became a part of the new nation of Gran Colombia until 1831, when Gran Colombia dissolved into the separate nations of Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.

Paez’s Revolt (1848-1849)-Revolt by Jose Antonio Paez, the leader of the Conservative Party, rebelled against his erstwhile friend and ally, President Jose Tadeo Monagas when the new president appointed members of the Liberal Party to his governement. Paez was defeated and fled into exile.

The Federal War (1859–1863)— Civil war between Venezuela’s Conservative Party and the Liberal Party. The Federal War is also known as the Great War or the Five Year War. This war began with the overthow of the Monagas brothers by their Liberal and Conservative opponents, who then began fighting among themselves. the war ended in a Liberal victory.

Conservative Revolution (1868)— A Conservative revolution led by Conservative leader Jose Tadeo Monagas overthrew the Liberal regime of President Juan Falcon.

Venezuelan Civil War (1868-1870)–Civil conflict between the Conservatives and Liberals. The Liberals won this time.

Venezuelan-British Boundary Dispute (1895-1896)–A border dispute over the boundary separating Venezuela from British Guyana nearly caused war between the United States and Britain. The U.S. supported Venezuela in the dispute.

Venezuelan Civil War (1899-1902)–Civil war between Venezuela’s Liberal and Conservative factions. Won by Conservative “Blue” leader Cipriano Castro.

Venezuelan Blockade (1902)–British, German, and Italian warships blockaded Venezuelan ports in an attempt to force payment of Venezuelan international debts. This was a common tactic by rich European nations to force payment by poorer nations when they had trouble paying debts.

Venezuela in World War Two (Feb-Sept, 1945)-Venezuela, though pro-American, remained neutral during most of World War Two, primarily to not give the Germans an excuse to attack the Venezuelan oil industry. When the war began in 1939, Venezuela was the world’s leading producer of oil. Venezuela finally declared war on the Axis powers in February of 1945. The Venezuelan military did not enter combat during the war.

Venezuelan Military Revolt (Oct. 18, 1945)-A military coup brought a Liberal government into power.

Venezuelan Military Revolt (Nov. 24, 1948)-A military coup led by Colonel Carlos Delgado Chalbaud, overthrew the Liberal governement of the Acción Democrática (AD) political party and restored Conservative rule. What followed was the establishment of a repressive military dictatorship.

Venezuelan Liberal Revolt (Oct. 13, 1951)-Attempted rebellion by the Acción Democrática (AD), the party of the elected government overthrown by the military junta in November of 1948.

Venezuelan Military Revolt (Jan. 1-23, 1958)-A military rebellion ousted dictatorial President Marcos Perez Jimenez. Jimenez fled the country due to the revolt which cost 300 lives and left 1,000 wounded.

Venezuelan Communist Insurgency (1960-1965)-Low-level Commuist insurgency against the government.

Venezuelan Military Uprising (June 26, 1961)-A militry revolt against the government failed.

Venezuelan Military Uprising (May 4-5, 1962)-A militry revolt against the government failed.

Venezuelan Military Uprising (June 4, 1962)-A militry revolt against the government failed.

Venezuelan Military Coup Attempt (February, 1992)-A militry revolt led by military officer Hugo Chavez against the government failed.

Venezuelan Military Coup Attempt (November, 1992)-A militry revolt against the government failed.

Venezuelan Coup Attempt (April, 2002)-An attempted coup against President Hugo Chavez failed.

Venezuela-Colombia Conflict (December, 2009)

Venezuelan Political Conflict (2014-Present)-Maduro’s continued socialist economic policies provoked widespread protests, resulting in civilian deaths. Since 2015, nearly 2 million people have fled Venezuela. In the 2018 presidential election, the incumbent Maduro won with 67.8% of the vote. Several foreign governments (Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, France and the United States), along with the Venezuelan oppositon, claimed the results were fraudulent, and challenged legitimacy of the Maduro presidency. The opposition claimed that Juan Guaidó was the legitimate president. Maduro’s foreign allies, including Cuba, China, Russia, Turkey, and Iran continue to recognize Maduro as president. In December, 2018, Russia sent several long-range bombers to visit Venezuela, amid mutterings by the Trump Administration about the possibility of American military intervention.

In January 2019 the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) approved a resolution “to not recognize the legitimacy of Nicolas Maduro’s new term. The United States and several other nations formally recognized Juan Guaidó as the President of Venezuela. American military planes brought food and medical supplies to the Colombian-Venezuelan border region while Venezuela continued to keep the border closed.

 

 

 

 

Links and Resources on the Wars of Venezuela:

 

VENEZUELA: Bombs in Caracas–Time Magazine, Oct. 1951

Why Russian Nuclear Bombers Are in Venezuela— Time Magazine-Dec. 13, 2018

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