Carmen Teresa Meléndez Rivas (born 3 November 1961) is a

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

n politician and

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

. She was Minister of Interior and Justice from 25 October 2014 to 9 March 2015, and

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Nicolás Maduro Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and former union leader serving as the 53rd president of Venezuela since 2013. Previously, he was the 24th Vice President of Venezuela, vice president from 2012 to 20 ...

's cabinet for nearly six months from March to September 2015. After a governorship in Lara (2017–2020), she headed the Interior Ministry for the second time, from October 2020 to August 2021.

Political career

Meléndez was the Deputy Minister of Education of the Ministry of Defense. On July 3, 2012, the president of Venezuela,

Hugo Chavez Hugo or HUGO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Hugo (film), ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese * Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback * Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise ...

, promoted her to the rank of Vice Admiral. Melendez was the first Venezuelan woman to receive this distinction in after being named Commander of General Staff of the Bolivarian Armed Forces. On 13 October, she was named Minister of People's Power of the Office by President Hugo Chavez and confirmed by national decree on 15 October. On 21 April 2013, during a national radio and television, she was reaffirmed as Minister of Management the Bolivarian Government of Venezuela for the government of Nicolas Maduro. On 3 July 2013 the president of the republic amounts to admiral in chief and July 5, 2013, the appointed Minister of Defense, the first woman to hold both charges in the history of Venezuela.

Sanctions

Meléndez has been sanctioned by several countries and is banned from entering neighboring Colombia. The Colombian government maintains a list of people banned from entering Colombia or subject to expulsion; as of January 2019, the list had 200 people with a "close relationship and support for the Nicolás Maduro regime".

United States

On 9 August 2017, the

United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the Treasury, national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current United States federal executive departments, U.S. government departments. ...

placed sanctions on Meléndez for her position in the

2017 Constituent Assembly of Venezuela The Constituent National Assembly (; ANC) was a constituent assembly elected in 2017 to draft a new constitution for Venezuela. Its members were elected in a special 2017 election that was condemned by over forty mostly Latin American and Wester ...

where she is tasked with the street government command.

Canada

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

sanctioned Meléndez on 22 September 2017 due to alleged "rupture of Venezuela's constitutional order."

Panama

On 29 March 2018, Meléndez was sanctioned by the Panamanian government for her alleged involvement with "money laundering, financing of terrorism and financing the proliferation of

weapons of mass destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a Biological agent, biological, chemical weapon, chemical, Radiological weapon, radiological, nuclear weapon, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill or significantly harm many people or cause great dam ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Melendez, Carmen 1961 births Living people People from Barinas (state) United Socialist Party of Venezuela politicians Ministers of interior of Venezuela Women state governors of Venezuela Venezuelan admirals Female defence ministers Female admirals Governors of Lara (state) People of the Crisis in Venezuela Women government ministers of Venezuela Venezuelan female military personnel 21st-century Venezuelan women politicians Members of the Venezuelan Constituent Assembly of 2017 Secretariat of the Presidency ministers of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro ministers Hugo Chávez ministers