History
Independence era
The origin of an organized and professional armed forces in Venezuela dates to the Spanish troops quartered in the former Province of Venezuela in the 18th century. Politically and militarily until the creation of theMilitary rule
During the second half of the 19th century, a school for officers continued (Military Academy of Mathematics, which was decades in advance of the policy of unification of arms and services of the Spanish military academy, which was in fact after to the Venezuelan one), a standing Army, weapons, and creating new services including the Corps of Sappers. This phase of the Venezuelan Army, is marked by infighting and a domain of local militias with no training (the Federal War was one example). The little outside help in military matters at this stage is limited to the British and the later Chilean military missions, which began the long modernization of the army and navy. The military figures (there were other political figures) of the armed forces who were the most important at this stage were Marshal Juan Crisóstomo Falcón, General in ChiefFourth Republic government
At this time, the armed forces were composed of the traditional air force, army, navy and national guard. The armed services made their mark in the 1960s in stopping anti-government actions and even two rebellions from within its very own ranks. The 1970s were also marked with the Carabobo Reorganizational Plan, aimed to enhance the capability of the Army and marked an increase of regular army units and materiel. The Air Force, Navy and National Guard increased their capabilities as well with modern equipment to satisfy all those who serve. Born again under a turbulent internal and external picture for the nation is the modern National Bolivarian Armed Forces, in the midst of the economic crises of the 1980s and the subsequent military coups of the early 1990s.Bolivarian government
Under the governments of Hugo Chávez and his successor Nicolás Maduro, the armed forces have undergone significant changes, including in its name (from National Armed Forces to National Bolivarian Armed Forces). There has also been a political change in partnerships switching from cooperation with the United States and its allies to expanded cooperations with Russia as the biggest of those new military allies.Doctrine
The military doctrine of the armed forces today is based on policy laid out by the late Hugo Chávez (President and Commander in Chief from 1999 to 2013). Chávez stated that the duty of the national military was to be "essentially patriotic, popular, and anti-imperialist." According to Chávez's policy, the military would also follow defense principles of a "people's war of resistance" against the enemies of the republic and to assist in "internal order," as well as participate in government economic development plans and programs for the benefit of the people of Venezuela.Mission statement
According to the Article 3 of the Armed Forces Organic Law, the fundamental mission of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces is to ensure the independence and sovereignty of the nation and ensure the integrity of the geographical territories of the country, by means of military defense, cooperation in the maintenance of internal order and active participation in national development.Organization and structure
The President of Venezuela is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces under constitutional provisions, thus he has overall supervision and control over it. He also appoints the Minister of Defense, the commandant of the Operational Strategic Command and the commanding generals of the service branches and has full authority over all uniformed personnel. In doing this, he is assisted by the Commander-in-Chief's General Staff.Ministry of Defense
The Venezuelan Ministry of the People's Power for Defense is the federal-level organ responsible for maintaining the Venezuelan armed forces. As of November 2014, this ministry is headed by General Vladimir Padrino Lopez, who replaced AdmiralHigh Command Authorities and National Armed Forces Council
The president is assisted by the Military High Command of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, which consists of the Minister of Defense, the Chief of Inspectorate General for Defense, the Commandant of the Operational Strategic Command, the Commanding General of the Army, the Commanding General of the Navy, the Commanding General of the Air Force, the Commanding General of the National Guard, and the Commanding General of the National Militia General Command (AFOL Art. 42). The National Armed Forces High Council is made by the Military High Command. It is the principal organ for consultation and advice of the President of the Republic, of the National Defense Council and Minister of Defense, on issues of organization, operation, development and employment of the Armed Forces, either in peacetime or in state of emergency. Per the 2014 amendments to the Armed Forces Organic Law, the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the OSC is now renamed as the National Armed Forces Senior General Staff Authority, and now has been expanded, led by the Minister of Defense and the Commandant of the OSC, and assisted by the Assistant Commandant and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, service branch commanding generals, commanding generals of the Integral Strategic Defense Regions, and a secretary general of the HCA.Other decentralised directorates
Operational Strategic Command
The Operational Strategic Command (CEOFAN) is the highest organ of command of the National Armed Forces. It was created by the current Article 60 of the Organic Law of the National Armed Forces (LOFAN) as amended in September 2005. It reports to both the President and to the Minister of Defense and is responsible for coordinating the action of military units belonging to the different service branches of the Armed Forces. The Commandant may or may not be also a concurrently serving Minister of Defense in some cases. The newly created military regions are subordinate to the OSC, NBAF, alongside the air defense units of the Army, Air Force and Navy under the banner of the ''OSC Air Defense Forces Command'', albeit being commanded by an Air Force general officer, as of 2017 Division General Juan Manuel Diaz.Military regions
The ''Integral Strategic Defense Regions'' or ''ISDRs'' (REDI, ''Regiones Estrategicas de Defensa Integral'') were formally activated on 13 September 2008, in compliance with the provisions of the amended Organic Law of the National Armed Forces. Equivalent to a military district, these regional commands are mandated to serve the defense, social and economic needs of their respective areas of responsibility. These are divided into the ''Integral Defense Operations Zones'' or INDOZ (In Spanish, ''Zona Operativa del Defensa Integral'' or ZODI) subdivided into state commands (''State Integral Defense Operations Zones'' or STINDOZ) and in the Maritime Region, 4 ''Maritime and Insular Integral Defense Operations Zones'' (MAIINDOZ), created in July 2015. A brand new region, the National Capital Region Command, was created on 7 July 2016.Service branches
The armed forces is divided into six service branches, the Army, Navy, Air Force, National Guard, National Reserve and the Territorial Guard. The Army, Navy, Air Force and National Guard will serve under the Strategic Operational Command ('), the National Reserve and the Territorial Guard will serve under the National Reserve and Mobilization Command ('), since 2009 now called as the National Militia General Command (').Main branches
Army
The Venezuelan Army (' or '), is made up today of roughly 63,000 troops (including conscripts). Its main function is planning, implementing and monitoring terrestrial military operations in coordination with the other components of the national armed forces, in pursuit of the Integrated National Defense mission. Currently, it is organized in six operating divisions plus the other components: the Army Aviation Command, 6th Corps of Engineers, Army Logistics Command, and Army Education Command. It is composed of armored units, infantry, engineers, special forces and artillery, with resources that allow it to develop various types of airlift operations. It is the largest military branch of Venezuela's armed forces. Its current commanding general is Major General Juan de Jesús García Toussaintt.Navy
The Venezuelan Navy (' or ') and Marines (''Infanteria de Marina'') primary mission is to implement, manage and control naval operations, naval aircraft, and the Coast Guard in support of Navy activities to ensure the execution of plans of employment. The staff is estimated at 30,000 personnel including 12,000 Marines and 600 personnel from the Naval Aviation. There are five major commands: Naval Logistics Command, Naval Personnel Command, Naval Education and Training Command and the Naval Operations Command, which in turn is composed of the following commands: Fleet Forces Command, Riverline Command, Naval Aviation Command, Coast Guard Command and the Marine Division. Operationally, the country is divided into two Naval zones; Western Naval Zone (HQ: Punto Fijo) and Eastern Naval Area (HQ: Carupano) that currently covers the Atlantic coast. The activation of the projected areas: Central Naval Area (HQ: Puerto Cabello), Atlantic (HQ: Güiria) and South (HQ: Caicara Orinoco) is currently in the planning stages. Navy Day is celebrated on the date of Simon Bolivar's birthday, 24 July, the day of the final battle of the Venezuelan War of Independence, the Battle of Lake Maracaibo, in 1823. The Commanding General of the Navy (as of 2015) is Admiral Franklin Montplaisier.Air Force
Founded in 1946 through the merger of the army and navy aviation wings, the Venezuelan Air Force (' or ') is organized the same as the other military components, with the following commands: Air Operations Command (integrated in thirteen Air Groups, consisting of squadrons of transport aircraft, helicopters, fighter and attack aircraft and training aircraft), the Air Defense Forces Command, the Airborne Command, the Air Logistics Command, the Air Personnel Command, including the Air Force Police and the Air Force Corps of Engineers, and the Air Education and Training Command, including the Air Force Academy, Air Personnel Training School, and the Air Power College. Its main objective is to protect the airspace of Venezuela in coordination with the other components of the National Armed Forces. In 2007, the Air Force was renamed as the Bolivarian National Military Air Force of Venezuela and has gone into an expansion and modernization program. The Commanding General of the Venezuelan Air Force, as of July 2015, is Major General Edgar Valentín Cruz Arteaga.National Guard
The National Guard of Venezuela (' or '), according to the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a military corps with police functions. With roughly 23,000 troops, its organized into 9 regional commands (division size) and 24 state level zone commands (brigade sized), with plans to expand that number to fifteen commands. Additionally, there is the Coastal Surveillance Command, the Air Support Command, the Corps of Engineers, the Logistics Support Command, the National Guard Command School and the National Guard Academy and the various other institutions under its Education Command. It is planned to structure the National Guard in divisions, under the command of the Territorial Commands. In 2007, the National Guard was renamed as the Bolivarian National Guard of Venezuela, and was expanded even further to include the People's Guards Command in 2011 and the Anti-extortion and Sequestration Command in 2013, with a Social Action Division in the planning stage as of present. The Commanding General of the National Guard is Major General Nestor Luis Reverol Torres.Other branches
National Militia
The Venezuelan militia traces its origins to both the long struggle against Spanish rule by the indigenous peoples of Venezuela and the militia battalions raised in the 18th century during the Spanish era, that later formed the basis of the armed forces upon the independence of the nation, and two militiamen from that period, Jose Maria España and Manuel Gual, began the long road towards national independence with their failed revolt of 1797. It was only in the 21st century that the militias were revived this time as a full branch of the armed services of Venezuela, formed on the basis of the various reserve commands of the National Armed Forces first as the Armed Reserve Forces, then as the National Reserve and Mobilization Command, and from 2008, as the National Bolivarian Militia. Today the General Command of the National Boliviarian Militia is divided into two major commands: 1. The National Reserve Service, consisting of all Venezuelan citizens who are either not in active military service, have completed their military service, or serve voluntarily in the military reserve. 2. The Territorial Guard Component, consisting of all Venezuelan citizens who voluntarily serve to organize local resistance to any external threat to national independence in all levels of society. A third component, the People's Navy Branch, created in 2013, serves as a naval militia component composed of volunteer national servicemen and women contributing to the defense of the nation's maritime waters and coastline. It is itself divided into the Naval Reserve (part of the NRS) and the Workers' Naval Employment Territorial Militias, part of the TGC. At present the National Militia is organized on the basis of nine (09) Reserve brigades, present throughout the national territory, dozens of Special Resistance Corps (grouped around workers contingents of state and private enterprises and federal, state, city and township government institutions) and territorial militia units nationwide, plus a newly created national guards brigade. It is an autonomous and auxiliary force for the Armed Forces' service branches, with its own chain of command and service arms, reporting directly to the President, the Minister of Defense and the Operational Strategic Command. It can be estimated at the present time about 400,000 men and women are on various training levels, but the target of its authorities is to reach 1,100,000 part-time national servicemen and women, including a newly raised youth cadet arm for university students and a women's militia component. As of 2021, the National Militia is a 3 million strong force of male and female reservists and part-time national service personnel. And as part of its expansion the National Militia has been active in training exercises with the other service branches in preparation for the duties of national wartime defense. In honor of the reservists' honorable service during 13 April 2002 coup d'état in defense of the presidency, armed forces and the people, that day, which also honors its formal foundation, is celebrated yearly as National Militia Day (until 2009 this was celebrated on 4 February). The commanding general of the National Militia is Major General Manuel Bernal Martínez, Venezuelan Army.Presidential Honor Guard
The is the joint service military unit mandated to ensure the immediate security of the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and his First Family and for the performance of public duties in the most important places in the country. The most distant antecedents of the Presidential Honor Guard go back to the ''Hussars Troop'' of Bolivar, of the Venezuelan War of Independence and of the largerMilitary Intelligence
The general directorate of military intelligence (''Dirección General de Inteligencia Militar'', DGIM), is the bureau in charge to collect all the strategic intelligence data, and to coordinate the diverse institutions or departments of military intelligence of the service components of National Armed Forces and the National Militia. The chief of the general directorate is Brigadier General Ivan Hernandez Darlan as of 20 January 2014.Budget
According to the law of the approved budget for the 2012 Fiscal year, the budget allocated to the defense sector, is US$4.959 billion, which represents 6.5% of Venezuela'sMilitary justice
According to the article 76 of the Organic Law of the National Armed Force, the system of military justice consists of * The Military Criminal Judicial Circuit * The Military Prosecutor * The Military Advocacy * Auxiliary and research bodies Article 77 of the same Act specifies the support logistics and financial of the same: the Ministry of defence will provide the human, financial, material and technical resources for its proper functioning. Likewise, will seek the administrative and financial autonomy of each of the members of the system of military justice.Personnel
All men and women that are citizens of Venezuela have a constitutional duty to register for military service at the age of 18, which is the age of majority in Venezuela.Requirements for military service
*Be a natural-born Venezuelan *Be between eighteen and thirty (30) years of age for men, twenty-five (25) years of age for women *Be unmarried; and for women not to have children. *Not having a case in court. *Possess proper identification cards *Not be disabled physically. *Not having a criminal record. *Not consuming any alcoholic beverage.Military education
The military educational system, according to the concept of military strategy of the National Armed Forces, has a mission to educate, train and develop professionals pro-active, responsible, aware of the commitment with the defense in depth and its participated actively in the development of the country, achieving a comprehensive and interdisciplinary training that enable them to interact with the management of public or private; the education system will be geared towards a sound humanistic, scientific, research and spiritual culture that promotes leadership and educational self-management, development of competences, which facilitates the adaptation of their knowledge to the continuous transformation of science and technology, with emphasis on the observance and respect of human rights and international humanitarian law.Bolivarian Military University of Venezuela
The=Service academies
= *Military Academy of the Army ( Caracas, Capital District) *Military Academy of the Navy (=Specialty schools
= *Army Infantry School ''General-in-Chief Rafael Urdaneta'' *Army Cavalry and Armor School ''Major General Juan Guillermo Iribarren'' *Army Artillery School ''Colonel Diego Jalón'' *Army Logistics School ''Brigadier General José Gabriel Pérez'' *Army Military Engineering School ''Brigadier General Francisco Jacot'' *Naval Tactical Studies School *Air Power College *Internal Security Studies School *Armed Forces School of Intelligence ''Brigadier General Daniel Florence O'Leary'' *National Armed Forces College of Military Communications, Electronics and Information Technology (''Instituto Universitario Militar de Comunicaciones, Electrónica y Informatica de la Fuerza Armada Nacional'', IUMCOELIFA) *Languages College of the National Armed Forces ''Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda'' ** Army Languages School ** Navy Languages School ** Air Force Languages School ** National Guard School of Languages=Post-graduate colleges
= * National Defense Advanced Studies Institute ''Grand Marshal of Ayacucho Anthonio Jose de Sucre'' (''Instituto de Altos Estudios de la Defensa Nacional'', IAEDEN) * National Armed Forces War College ''Liberator Simón Bolívar''National Experimental University of the Armed Forces
The National Experimental University of the Armed Forces (Spanish: ''Universidad Nacional Experimental Politécnica de la Fuerza Armada Bolivariana'', UNEFA) is a Venezuelan public university associated with the Venezuelan armed forces. Founded in 1974 as the National Armed Forces Higher Polytechnical Institution (''Instituto Universitario Politécnico de las Fuerzas Armadas Nacionales''), it was renamed by the Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez in 1999 to its current name. Its mission is the training of civilian personnel in the NAF and all military personnel, plus civilians in educational skills, and it also offers doctoral programs and post-graduate studies. Its president, as of 2015, is Vice Admiral Elisa Amelia Di Tizio, Deputy Minister of Education for National Defense.Modernization and capability building projects for the Armed Forces
Mission Miranda
Mission Miranda, one of the Bolivarian Missions that were a legacy of the late President Hugo Chávez, was launched in 2004 to prepare all reserve and part-time national servicemen and women of the National Armed Forces for the important tasks of national total defense, security and economic progress. The main goal of the armed forces, under this mission, are to organize, recruit, record, monitor, and re-train the Armed Forces Reserve and National Militia personnel with the aim of defending the integrity of the country through military defense, cooperation in maintaining internal order, and active participation in the national development. Objectives: # Form a structural organization of adequate reserves for the needs of the FAN. # Procure the required infrastructure for the various commands of the reserve in each of the components. # Procure equipment and materials for storage to be used by members of the Reserve of the Armed Forces: # Develop an effective registration and monitoring program to ensure the identification, recording and location by region of the personnel of the Armed Forces Reserve. # Meet the curricular plans and instructional programs for academic activities and skills of the staff of the Armed Forces Reserve. # Meet the curricular plans and instructional programs for retraining of staff of the Reserve of the Armed Forces during periods of field drills. # Logistically support all the processes that must be met in the organization of the Armed Forces Reserve # Planning, procuring and implementing the annual budget required for the operation and maintenance of reserve units. # Ensure the employment of staff that makes up the Armed Forces Reserve in the different scenarios of action foreseen in the Federal Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. # Incentives to seek the staff of the Reserve of the Armed Forces and the National Militia for their recruitment.Mission Negro Primero
Named after the nickname of Venezuelan independence hero Pedro Camejo, this mission, another legacy of the Chávez administration, and now upgraded by President Nicolás Maduro to a Grand Mission, is aimed at upgrading the combat capabilities of all service personnel of the National Armed Forces and to strengthen the performance of the duties of national defense. Part of it is the acquisition of modern weapons and building of modern facilities and upgrading of existing buildings in all military installations.Women in the Armed Forces
Currently the 4 components that make up the NBAF: the Army, Navy, Air Force and the National Guard, plus the National Militia and the Presidential Honor Guard Brigade as well, have women who choose a military career for their professional development part of their ranks as either enlisted personnel, non-commissioned officers and officers. Within these service branches, the Venezuelan military woman has achieved important positions. Boys and girls also join together as students of the various educational institutions jointly operated by the service branches of the National Armed Forces through their foundations and the Ministry of Education from pre-school to the secondary level. Historical dates of the achievements of the Venezuelan women in the National Bolivarian Armed Forces: * July 1977: first contingent of women to enter a school of training of officers of the armed forces of Venezuela, specifically to the aviation school in Maracay. * June 2007: first woman pilot certified to fly the Mi-26 helicopter, the world's biggest helicopter. * 4 July 2007: first woman promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral. * 28 December 2008: A woman Brigadier General founded the Military Technical School of the NBAF (today the Military Technical Academy and formerly the Armed Forces Basic School) as Directress, the first-ever woman to hold the director post in a Venezuelan service academy. * 5 July 2010: the Venezuelan Government conferred Manuela Sáenz (also called the "Libertadora del Libertador"), the grade of brigadier general of the Bolivarian army of Venezuela posthumously, as the "posthumous recognition of the virtues of heroine of American independence" due to her outstanding contributions in theRanks, uniforms and insignia
Military ranks
The most important reform in more than one century, was in 2008, with the enactment of the reform of the Organic Law of the National Armed Forces, which established, among many innovations, the transformation of the non-commissioned officer level "technical officer" to commissioned officer status. As part of the same reform, the rank of Major General, intermediate rank that comes after Divisional General and before the rank of General in Chief, was officially created. In the case of the Navy, the rank of Admiral in Chief, created also by the same reforms, is now equivalent to General in Chief. Thus the officer rank system used today is more compatible to those used by most armed forces. Since 2011 the officer corps is divided into Commissioned Candidate, Regular Commissioned, Troop and Command Corps officers, the latter three, alongside the Technical Officers Corps, forming the regular officer corps and the former being composed of civilian commissioned officers. Article 62 of the Organic Law of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces has the full order of ranks of military officers, and their equivalents in the Navy, while Article 63 of the Organic Law lists the full order of ranks for non-commissioned service personnel and Article 69 of the said law provides the military hierarchy of the enlisted personnel and ratings of the National Armed Forces. Amendments made in 2014 for the Organic Law of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces officially give the following as the highest rank for the following officer corps: * Major General/Vice Admiral – Technical Officers Corps * Brigadier General/Rear Admiral – Troop Officers Corps * Brigadier General/Rear Admiral – Commissioned Candidate Officers CorpsThree-sun ranking
The rank of Lieutenant General (''Mayor General'' in Spanish), a rank immediately below the General and above Major General, was established in the year 2007 in the aftermath of the Armed Forces Organic Law amendments and in the Navy, Squadron Vice Admiral (three-suns) and Admiral (four-suns) are the equivalents today. These officers are assigned mostly to the leadership of military regions (REDI), Commanders General of the service branches, the Inspector General, deputy ministers in the Ministry of Defense, and temporarily as Chief of the NBAF-OSC, if the Minister of Defence is an official asset, with the officeholder having the rank of General in Chief or Admiral in Chief. Before 2007 the 3 sun rank belonged to Generals in Chief and Admirals, and is equivalent to the rank ofFour-sun ranking
Since the age of the independence war in Venezuela, the most senior officer is designated as general-in-chief (''general en jefe''). From its creation, the rank was represented by three mythical suns (equivalent to three-star rank), but with the creation in 2008 of the rank of Lieutenant General, four mythical suns (equivalent to four-star rank) are used. If used in the Navy, it is called as admiral (''almirante en jefe'') since 2008 (formerly the 3 sun rank was of an Admiral), uses the same 4 suns in the shoulder board, and the sleeve insignia used mirrors that of a full Admiral of the Fleet in the Royal Navy.Commander-in-Chief rank and insignia
The office of the Venezuelan military supreme commander in chief has always been held by the President of Venezuela as per constitutional requirements. However, with the new law sanctioned in 2008, the "''Comandante en Jefe''" rank is not only a function attributed to the executive branch but a full military rank given to the president upon taking office. Upon assumption he receives a saber, epaulette, shoulder knot, shoulder board and sleeve insignia and full military uniform to be used in military events while performing the duties as president. The shoulder insignia mirrors Cuban practice but is derived from the German-styled officer rank insignia.Rank insignia
Berets
Berets are worn by some units in the National Armed Forces, with distinctive colors for some units or functions. The beret colors are as follows:Modernization program
The Venezuelan government has embarked on a massive military purchase programme. This has included negotiations for German submarines and transport aircraft, several agreements with Russia (outlined below), transport aircraft and naval vessels from Spain, radars from China, home-made and designed armored light vehicles and rocket launchers, studies for Russian main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, amongst many others. Most if not all European military hardware have not been delivered to Venezuela due to the U.S. embargo.Surveillance radars, AK-103s and helicopters: Mi-17, Mi-26 and Mi-35
Venezuela in 2005 acquired 3 JYL-1 long range 3D surveillance radars from China at a cost of $150 million. The 3 JYL-1s, which are truck mounted, were all delivered by 2007. Also that year, Venezuela bought 51 military helicopters from Russia, by 2008 all 51 had been delivered to the Venezuelan armed forces, the helicopters acquired were: 40 Mi-17, 3 Mi-26 and 8Su-30s and missiles
In 2006 Venezuela purchased 24 Su-30MK jet fighters also from Russia, all delivered by 2008. In order to equip those fighters the country bought a large assortment of missiles, it is estimated that Venezuela acquired: 200Night vision equipment, sniper rifles and submarines
In 2007, the Belarusian military optics industry agreed to supply the Venezuelan army with night vision devices, and install on, as Hugo Chávez described, "every single rifle in the Venezuelan army." The deal is valued at $3–$24 million. Later that year, Chávez announced plans to purchase of 5,000 Dragunov sniper rifles from the RussianRussian loans and the Chinese K-8W light jet
In September 2008, Russia provided Venezuela with a $1 billion loan to buy Russian weapons. A Kremlin source said "The Russian side has made the decision to extend to Venezuela a $1 billion loan for a military cooperation program." There is a lot of speculation about which weapons will be bought with that loan. Venezuela has shown interest on the following weapons: TOR-M1 SAM systems, T-72 tanks, Su-35 jet fighters and Il-76 military cargo aircraft. Despite of the interest and the Russian credit line, no deal has been finalized. In October 2008 Rosoboronexport informed that Venezuela was close to buying among other things a "large shipment of BMP-3" infantry fighting vehicles. However, that deal too wasn't finalized. Also in September Chávez confirmed that Venezuela purchased 24Contract with China for modernization of the Venezuelan Marine Corps
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez said in 2012 that his government will buy amphibious tanks from China for its military. Chávez isn't saying how many of the armored vehicles Venezuela intends to buy, but says the deal signed Tuesday calls for a Chinese company to begin delivering the tanks next year. He announced the deal in a speech to troops, saying the $500 million cost will be financed through loans that China has offered Venezuela in exchange for oil shipments. The new armored equipment arrived in the country in 2014 and are now at the service of the Venezuelan Marine Corps.The Russian Federation gives new credit and interest in the Su-35
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez said he was interested in buying Sukhoi Su-35 Flanker-E multirole fighter jets from Russia to enhance his country's defense capabilities. "I have already sent a statement to the government of Russia that we are ready to consider buying in the next few years Su-35 fighters to modernize and enhance our defense powers" Venezuela's national radio quoted Chávez as saying. Russia and Venezuela have signed an agreement on a $4 billion loan for the oil-rich Latin American partner to buy Russian weaponry. "Two billion will be provided next year and another two billion in 2013," Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez said.Controversy with the United States
These acquisitions and other projects have been greeted with criticism from the United States, which opposes the government of President Hugo Chávez. The U.S. accuses Venezuela of starting an arms race, which they claim will destabilize the military equilibrium in South America. Venezuela is also accused of supplying small arms to neighboring Colombian guerrilla organizations including FARC, which is sympathetic to Chávez. United States criticism is met with skepticism by Venezuelan authorities, who claim the weapons are needed to update the basic equipment in the armed forces. In some cases, Venezuelan armaments like the FN FAL have been in service more than 50 years. The government also claims that the U.S. has been the one to initiate arms races and de-stabilize countries by supplying subversive groups inU.S. military embargo
In May 2006, the government of the United States announced an embargo ofThe Russian Federation has broken the U.S. embargo
However, the Russian Federation has continued sending arms to Venezuela despite the US embargo. Russia has agreed to sell more than $4 billion (£2 billion) worth of armaments to Venezuela since 2005 and disclosed that Mr Chávez wanted new antiaircraft systems and more fighter jets.Caracas acknowledges problems with Iran by U.S. embargo
The Venezuela President, Hugo Chávez, acknowledged that the joint production between his country and Iran cars, has been affected by the embargo that United States keeps on the Islamic country.Spanish Defense Minister, defends arms sales to Venezuela
The Spanish Minister of Defense, Pedro Morenes, has defended the sale of military equipment to Venezuela, and reported that a delegation from the public company Navantia has traveled to the capital of the country, Caracas, to try to sell new products to the Chávez government. Morenes has made these statements during a speech at the plenary session of the Congress to reply to an interpellation by the spokesman for Izquierda Unida, Jose Luis Centella, on the Ministry of defence plans for the coming years and the Spanish missions abroad.Role of the military in Venezuelan politics
From 1810 up to the 1819 Angostura Congress that created Gran Colombia, and into the era of national independence since 1831, the National Armed Forces helped shaped the political, economical, social and national affairs of Venezuela, with so many military led-governments that led the nation until the late 1950s (with a brief break in the 1940s), several of them under strong military dictators. After Marcos Perez Jimenez left in 1958, the military role in government affairs ended with the framing of the 1961 Constitution and the replacement by civilian leaders of the military anti-Jimenez government that took power after the 1958 coup. However, the years that followed saw 2 coup attempts by military personnel with the help of groups disillusioned by government policies in the 1960s, and military repressions of student and civil rallies and actions from the late 60s onward, all these happening while fighting rebel groups present in the national territory and on the Venezuelan-Colombian border region. All these led up to the events of the 1989 Caracazo, in which National Guardsmen crushed anti-government actions and riots in the capital area with great severity, causing the deaths of hundreds, which in turn resulted in the coup attempts of 1992 and 1993. By the time Hugo Chávez assumed the presidency in 1999, retired armed forces personnel who served with him were appointed to several cabinet posts and were given seats in the National Assembly. Chávez only allowed retired military personnel to run for elective posts at all levels as well as to serve in appointive government positions except for the Ministries of Defense and the Interior, per tradition led by active generals of the armed forces (the latter since the early 21st century). One of the advances achieved in the new Bolivarian Constitution of 1999 was to allow the right to vote in the elections to all service personnel of the armed forces without any limitation whatsoever, thus bringing it in line with other countries that allow the practice. This is the right enshrined in article 64 of the said Constitution.Venezuelan military coup d'états
The NAF were involved in many coup d'états in national history: *June 1835 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt (Revolución de las Reformas) *March 1858 Venezuelan coup d'état (Revolución de Marzo) *May 1899 Venezuelan coup d'état ( Liberal Restoration Revolution) *December 1908 Venezuelan coup d'état *OctoberRole in Venezuelan society
Humanitarian relief
The tragedy of Vargas in December 1999, brought with it several lessons, that the Government knew how to assimilate, one of them was the quick action of the FANB to assist populations in danger, and the reconstruction of devastated areas. Since then, Venezuela through the FANB, participated in numerous actions of humanitarian assistance, in several countries of the world. * Humanitarian International Brigade "''Simón Bolívar''" It is a unit created in order to attend immediately to populations affected by natural calamities, both nationally and internationally. Task forces of this unit have provided support to countries like Nicaragua, Bolivia, Ecuador, Cuba, among others. * Battalion 51 "''Dra. Migledys Campos Goatache''" It is a unit of civilian and military doctors who assists medical in remote areas of national and international geography.Military industry
Venezuela currently shows an industrial development in the defence sector, that sector still far from compared to countries such as Brazil AND Argentina, if it has meant a noticeable advance respect to the last decade of the 20th-century Venezuelan. In the opinion of Francisco Arias Cardenas (ex – presidential candidate; former member of parliament; and current candidate for the governorship of Zulia State, by the ruling party PSUV): "in the 13 years of management of the current Government there has been an armed forces industry of its own, having the autonomy that lacked in the Fourth Republic, when transnational corporations controlled the military sector of the country. This advance of the Venezuelan military industry gives us a range of greater encouragement, that is what we need, and the possibility of applying our inventiveness to the development of technologies that give us genuine autonomy to defend our territory." It was planned that Venezuela would manufacture all-terrain vehicles, trucks, ammunition, rifles, unmanned aircraft, grenades, assembled ships of small and medium-sized ports among other products, produced by state corporations, however, most of these are unable to operate due to lack of personnel, resources, and even in some cases lack of support from the government, these corporations are:IBIDIFANB
IBIDIFANB (Instituto Bolivariano de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación de la Fuerza Armada Nacional Bolivariana), shall develop all projects that have much impact in what is maintain operational sizing in the FANB, maintain equipment and also has the possibility of supporting the national development with the generation of some research projects, some technological lines can do good for the people of VenezuelaCAVIM
CAVIM (C.A. Venezolana de Industrias Militares, Venezuelan Military Industries Company Ltd.) is the national corporation owned by the Ministry of Defense charged with developing a national military industry by producing weapons, ammunition, uniforms and other products to be utilized by the service personnel of the National Armed Forces. It has currently demonstrated capabilities in the development and production of rifles, grenades, shotguns, unmanned aircraft, explosives for industrial use, ammunition, bulletproof vests, kevlar helmets, among other products, weapons, logistics and various utensils for use by the NAF. In January 2011, an explosion of unidentified causes and the subsequent fire scorched five CAVIM arms and ammunition depots in the state of Aragua, leading to one official fatality and nearly 10,000 people being evacuated. On 12 February 2013, the United States Government sanctioned Venezuela's Military Industries Company (CAVIM), as well as other 12 foreign companies, including four Chinese firms, for the sale of arms and military technology to Iran, North Korea or Syria.DIANCA
DIANCA (Diques y Astilleros Nacionales C.A.), is the state shipyard of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. It was created in 1905 in the city of Puerto Cabello, Carabobo state.UCOCAR
UCOCAR (Unidad Naval Coordinadora de los Servicios de Carenado de la Armada) is responsible for the repair, maintenance and construction of ships, equipment, systems, helmet and structures up to 1,000 tonnes, in support of the armed forces, public firms and private sector entities. Several boats have been designed, and the company has an agreement with the Dutch shipyard firm Damen, to assemble some ships to be used by the Venezuelan Navy. This firm also produces the Guardian G-25 riverine craft boats being used by both the Navy and the National Guard.CIDAE
CIDAE (Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo Aeronáutico) is a scientific center making helmets for pilots. There have been upgrades of radar, and is involved with CAVIM, in the development of unmanned aircraft among other developments. Also this research center this trying time of short-range, solid fuel rockets. Likewise, the CIDAE has designed and built a Flight Simulator for the T-27 Tucano aircraft, as well as a simulator of flight to aircraft Cessna 208 Caravan, shooting simulators, and the recovery of the test benches of PT6 engines, with 80% of Venezuelan technology, not only in the design but in the software installation and the use of materials. CIDAE participa en el proyecto del satélite Simón Bolívar con China.ASTIMARCA
ASTIMARCA (Astilleros de Maracaibo y el Caribe S.A.). As part of the agreements between the Governments of Cuba and Venezuela, there is this joint venture. It is a shipyard overhaul, for small and medium-size vessels.CENARECA
CENARECA (Centro Nacional de Repotenciación C.A.) is the manufacturer of the vehicle family all-terrain and high mobility (HMMWV) Tiuna, manufactured in serious to the Venezuelan armed forces, and donated in small quantities to Governments of theMAZVEN
MAZVEN C.A. makes heavy trucks, under a joint venture with the Belarusian company MAZ. It manufactures five models of trucks including trucks for military use.G&F Tecnología
G&F Tecnología is a Venezuelan company that develops an endogenous model of architecture technology oriented solutions derived from the design, development, implementation and operation of projects of telecommunications, information, aeronautics and electronics with increasing added value of applied knowledge. Specifically is a company manufacturer of unmanned aircraft, as well as communication equipment, and other electronic product.Military corporations of the Ministry of Defense
In addition, the Ministry of Defense operates the following nationally owned corporations aside from CAVIM: * Armed Forces Communications Enterprises (EMCOFANB) ** including National Boliviarian Armed Forces Television (TVFANB), Tiuna FM, 4 February Audiovisual Brigade and the NBAF newspaper, The Patriot (''El Patriota'') * National Armed Forces Agricultural Products Corporation (AGROFANB) * Military Transport Company Ltd. (EMILTRA) * Armed Forces Bank (BANFANB) * Military Mining, Gas and Petroleum Company (CAMIMPEG) * Safe Horizons Insurance (Seguros Horizonte, S.A.)See also
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