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| National Bolivarian Armed Forces | |
|---|---|
| Fuerza Armada Nacional Bolivariana | |
 | |
| Founded | 19 April 1810 |
| Current form | December 1999 |
| Service branches |  Venezuelan Army Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela Venezuelan Military Aviation Venezuelan National Guard Bolivarian Militia of Venezuela Strategic Command Operations |
| Leadership | |
| Commander-in-Chief | Nicolás Maduro |
| Minister of Defense | General-in-chief Vladimir Padrino López |
| Commander of the CEOFANB | Admiral-in-Chief Remigio Ceballos |
| Personnel | |
| Conscription | 18–30 years of age 30 month term |
| Active personnel | 109,000 (2020)[1] 220,000 paramilitary (2018)[2] |
| Reserve personnel | 8,000 (2018)[1] |
| Expenditure | |
| Budget | $741 million (2017)[1] |
| Percent of GDP | 0.35% (2017)[1] |
| Industry | |
| Domestic suppliers | CAVIM CENARECA MAZVEN[citation needed] DIANCA UCOCAR G&F Tecnología[3] |
| Foreign suppliers | |
| Related articles | |
| History | Venezuelan War of Independence Federal War |
| Ranks | Venezuelan military ranks |
The National Bolivarian Armed Forces (Spanish: Fuerza Armada Nacional Bolivariana - FANB) of Venezuela are controlled by the Commander-in-Chief (the President) and the Minister of Defense. In addition to the army, navy, and air force there is also a national guard and national militia primarily focused on internal security.
The armed forces primary purpose is to defend Venezuelan territory from attack, combat drug trafficking, provide search and rescue capabilities, aid the civilian population in case of natural disasters protection, as well as numerous internal security assignments. As of 2018[update], the armed forces had 123,000 active personnel and 8,000 reservists.
History
Independence era
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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 the Captaincy General of Venezuela in 1777, the Province of Venezuela depended on the Real Audiencia of Santo Domingo (in today's Dominican Republic) or the Viceroyalty of New Granada (today, Colombia) for the defense of the area. In 1732 the Spanish crown created a Military Directorate and established a number of battalions, and had a few units from infantry regiments based in Spain arrive in the area. Reform of the military in the colonies began a few decades later. The first squadrons of cavalry arrived from Spain in 1751. The first batteries of Artillery were officially raised just two years later. Both Creole whites and blacks were allowed to enter the ranks of the artillery companies. That same year, a Fixed Caracas Battalion was established. Until the creation of this battalion, defense had been based on small colonial militia companies, which initially only accepted whites. Gradually, this racist policy yielded and the entry of mixed-race people was allowed in the militias. It was from these various units that the bulk of the officers who fought in the battles of the Venezuelan War of Independence emerged. Among them were Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda, Simón Bolívar (Bolívar's own father had been Colonel of the Militia of Aragua), General in chief Santiago Mariño, Rafael Urdaneta, among many other heroes. With the establishment of an independent captaincy general in the latter half of the 18th century, the Spanish troops quartered in the province passed to the direct command of Caracas. The troops in the other provinces of the country, under the command of local governors, were overseen by the Captain General of Caracas, who served as commander in chief of the armed services. In this way a series of autonomous units was created for the peoples of the area and for defense duties, open to all fit males regardless of color. Aside from these the Spanish Navy also operated naval bases in the Captaincy General's territorial coastline, open to both whites and blacks as well.
Already in the early 19th century, many of these Venezuelans who had formed the bulk of the officer corps at the start of the formation of the national armed forces began to arrive in the country after participating in military campaigns abroad in the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolution, or after completing their studies in Europe. With them came a number of mercenaries and volunteers of many different nationalities: English, Scottish, Irish, French, German, Brazilian, Poles, Russians, and others. It was only in 1810 in the aftermath of the coup d'état of 19 April that year that formally began the process of raising the national armed services. Several of the military officers of the colonial military forces supported the coup and the subsequent creation of a junta. That Supreme Junta later appointed Commander Lino de Clemente to be in charge of defense affairs for the Captaincy General, and thus the armed forces began to be formed through their efforts, including the opening of a full military academy in Caracas for the training of officers, later joined by a naval academy in La Guaira for naval officer education the following year.
It could be said that in the first two decades of the 19th century, the nascent Liberation Army and Navy, was in the midst of the intellectual training of their military cadres, in various attempts to unleash the revolutionary war, and trying to build a modern army and navy. In the midst of that task came the generalissimo Francisco de Miranda, and the Liberator Simón Bolívar, who called for immediate action to, once and for all, ensure the independence of the nation, achieved through the aforementioned 19 April coup of 1810 and later through the formal enactment of the 1811 Venezuelan Declaration of Independence. Bolívar surprised his military colleagues, when he rejected part of the Napoleonic military assumptions, habits and behaviors, took more British soldiers and those from other nations, and even through third parties requested the assistance of the British Crown for the formation of the regular army and navy for the growing republic. And he did made no mistake indeed: the 19th century, ultimately, was dominated by British and Prussian military influences. Once in battle, Bolívar began to develop his own tactics, military strategies and practices, whose legacy remains till this day in the National Armed Forces, and led to victory after victory and the full liberation of not just Venezuela, but of northern South America, through battles in both land and sea until the wars ended in 1824.
Military rule
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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 Chief Cipriano Castro, Brigadier General Ezequiel Zamora and Manuel Ezequiel Bruzual.
Already in the first half of the 20th century, President General in Chief Juan Vicente Gómez, who originally based on the plans of General in Chief Cipriano Castro, began a thorough modernization in the armed services, but does not create a new army as some historians point out. This modernization was done with the help of instructors and advisers from Chile, France, Italy and Germany. The late Prussian influence did not reach the Venezuelan Army from the Germans, but from the Chilean military instructors in 1910. One of the most important reforms undertaken during the Gómez regime of the National Armed Forces, which began in 1910 with the aim of making the national armed services uniform, modern and technically advanced in this era of the 20th century.
The reform coincided with the centennial anniversary of the Venezuelan Declaration of Independence, which contributed to the doctrinal and political cohesion of the army and the navy. The most important milestones of this reform were:
In 1910, operation of the Military Academy of Venezuela that was reformed in 1903 started, and within it, the Naval Academy (then called Naval School of Venezuela), establishing the School of Application for Military officers in active service with the aim of upgrading their military expertise. In 1913 the Superior Technical Office responsible for the development of military doctrine, organization and training of the army, was founded.
In 1920 the Military Aviation School of Venezuela was established. It was located in Maracay and was inaugurated the first of January of the next year to train the nation's military pilots.
In 1923/1930 a new Code of Military law was adopted that superseded all previous military laws and responded to the new political and military situation in the country. This process was accompanied by the modernization of the infrastructure, provision of arms, equipment, uniforms and a sustained growth of the military budget, which was made possible by oil revenues. The reform had a strong German influence. This is due mainly to the fact the Prussian/German army was the most modern of the era and in this sense become a model internationally.
The most important political consequence of this reform, from 1913, was a sense of the rising political power of the Venezuelan military while retaining its traditional role as the defense forces of the State. Since 1914 Gomez always retained the post of Commanding General of the Army, even when not holding the presidency of the Republic. The power base of support of the regime after 1913, apart from the liberals and nationalists, was the armed forces, which became an essential element of repression to ensure public order and national progress.
At this stage the military and political figures more relevant (apart from the general Gómez himself), were General in Chief Eleazar López Contreras (who founded the National Guard in 1937) and Major General Isaías Medina Angarita, both Presidents of the Republic. With Angarita's ouster in 1945, civilians took over the government for the first time since 1922, albeit only briefly, but it was during those times that the Venezuelan Air Force was officially founded. The ouster of Angarita saw the participation of what is now today the 411th Armored Battalion "General in Chief Juan Francisco Bermudez", whose M3 Stuart light tanks and Jeeps saw action, and which foresaw the beginning of the modernization of the armed services.
The second half of the 20th century, was just as turbulent for the entire Venezuelan military, but it was projected into the future as a modern force for the coming years, though not yet cohesive. Already under the government of Major General Marcos Pérez Jiménez, who led the country as president and Commander in Chief from the early 1950s to 1958 (he was, under LTCOL Carlos Delgado Chalbaud and Germán Suárez Flamerich, the Minister of Defense) and the American influence (cultural, political and military), which started with the 1944 arrival of the first US military mission, became more prominent then in the entire history of the armed forces. So jealous of the Venezuelan Army, over the subsequent decades, the armed forces kept a precarious existing French influence, as a balance to the overwhelming American influence in the armed forces. Between the years 1945 and 1952, there was a major program of military equipment purchases almost monopolized by the United States (although other military material was acquired from other countries, mostly NATO countries) plus the military missions sent by that country, and later repeated again in the early years of the decade of the 1970s, albeit in a more balanced way by their countries of origin.
Fourth Republic government
|
At this time, the armed forces were composed of the traditional air force, army, navy and national guard.[8]
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). 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.[citation needed]
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.[9]
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 Admiral Carmen Meléndez who was appointed Venezuela's first woman minister of interior. The ministry coordinates numerous counter-narcotics operations, organizes various civil protection measures and operations, and generally oversees the conventional military capabilities of Venezuela. The office of minister is filled by a general or flag officer of the armed forces with the rank of general or admiral in chief (which is the only officer who holds this rank in the armed forces).
High 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
| Abbreviation | Full Name (English) | Full Name (Spanish) | Current office holder |
|---|---|---|---|
| VICEDUDEF [10] | Deputy Minister of Education for National Defense | Vice-Ministerio de Educación para la Defensa | Major General Tito Urbano Meleán, Venezuelan Army |
| VICESERV | Deputy Minister of Defense Services | Vice-Ministerio de Servicios de la Defensa | Divisional General Pedro Castro Rodríguez, Venezuelan Army |
| VICEPLANDES | Deputy Minister of Defense Development and Planning | Vice-Ministerio de Planification y Desarollo de la Defensa | Major General Alexander Hernández Quintana, Venezuelan Army |
| INGEFANB | Office of the Inspector General of the National Armed Forces | Inspectoría General de la Fuerza Armada Nacional | Major General Marcelino Pérez Díaz, Venezuelan Army |
| CONGEFANB [11][12] | Office of the Comptroller General of the National Armed Forces | Contraloría General de la Fuerza Armada Nacional | Divisional General Jose Maitan Herrera |
| SECODENA | Secretariat Office of the National Defense Council | Secretaría del Consejo de Defensa de la Nación | Major General Alexis Ascensión López Ramírez |
| CCSEDE[13][14] | Commission for Defense Sector Contracts | Comisión de Contrataciones del Sector Defensa | Brigadier General Alberto De Abreu Ferreira |
| DAEX[15][16] | Directorate-General for Weapons and Explosives | Dirección General de Armas y Explosivos | Brigadier General Carlos José Alexander Armas López |
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.[17]
A brand new region, the National Capital Region Command, was created on 7 July 2016.
All of these are led by officers of Lieutenant General or Vice Admiral rank.
| Short name | Name | States | General/Flag Officer Commanding (as of present) |
|---|---|---|---|
| REDI Capital | National Capital Integral Strategic Defense Region | Vargas, Miranda, Capital District. (Compatible to the National Capital Region of the United States Armed Forces and the United States Department of Defense, the United States Army Military District of Washington and the London District (British Army).) |
Lieutenant General Alexis Rodríguez Cabello, Venezuelan Army |
| REDI Central[18] | Central Integral Strategic Defense Region | Aragua, Carabobo and Yaracuy. | LTGEN Ricardo Nicodemo Ramos, Venezuelan Army |
| REDI Occidental[19] | Western Integral Strategic Defense Region | Falcón, Lara and Trujillo. | LTGEN Fabio Zavarce Pavón, Venezuelan National Guard |