The Venezuela Portal


Flag of Venezuela
Flag of 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 islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It comprises an area of 916,445 km2 (353,841 sq mi), and its population was estimated at 29 million in 2022. The capital and largest urban agglomeration is the city of Caracas. The continental territory is bordered on the north by the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Colombia, Brazil on the south, Trinidad and Tobago to the north-east and on the east by Guyana. Venezuela is a presidential republic consisting of 23 states, the Capital District and federal dependencies covering Venezuela's offshore islands. Venezuela is among the most urbanized countries in Latin America; the vast majority of Venezuelans live in the cities of the north and in the capital.

The territory of Venezuela was colonized by Spain in 1522 amid resistance from Indigenous peoples. In 1811, it became one of the first Spanish-American territories to declare independence from the Spanish and to form part of the first federal Republic of Colombia (Gran Colombia). It separated as a full sovereign country in 1830. During the 19th century, Venezuela suffered political turmoil and autocracy, remaining dominated by regional military dictators until the mid-20th century. Since 1958, the country has had a series of democratic governments, as an exception where most of the region was ruled by military dictatorships, and the period was characterized by economic prosperity.

The 2024 presidential election was held on 28 July 2024 to choose a president for a six-year term beginning on 10 January 2025. Polls conducted before the election indicated that opposition candidate González would win by a wide margin. After the government-controlled National Electoral Council (CNE) announced partial results showing a narrow Maduro victory, most world leaders expressed skepticism of the claimed results and did not recognize the CNE claims. Both González and Maduro proclaimed themselves winners of the election. The results of the election were not recognized by the Carter Center and Organization of American States due to the lack of granular results, and disputed by the opposition, which claimed a landslide victory and released access to vote tallies collected by poll watchers from a majority of polling centers as proof. In the aftermath of the announcement of results by the election authorities, protests broke out across the country. (Full article...)

Venezuela sent a delegation to compete at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy from 10 to 26 February 2006. This was the third time Venezuela had competed at a Winter Olympic Games. The Venezuelan delegation consisted of one luge athlete, Werner Hoeger. He finished 32nd in his only event, the men's singles. (Full article...)

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Monument to Independence
Monument to Independence


The Bolivarian Games are a regional multi-sport event held in honor of Simón Bolívar, and organized by the Bolivarian Sports Organization. The event is open to athletes from Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.

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Fabiana Andreina Rosales Guerrero (born 22 April 1992), also known as Fabiana Rosales de Guaidó, is a Venezuelan journalist and social media human rights activist. She is married to Juan Guaidó, former disputed president of the National Assembly and claimant to the country's acting presidency in the Venezuelan presidential crisis. She was considered by the White House to be the first lady of Venezuela, but, following the dissolution of the interim government, is no longer. (Full article...)

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Laguna Victoria in the Sierra Nevada of Venezuela

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A panoramic depiction of a two-story nineteenth-century building alongside a square with several small trees.
The Universidad Central de Venezuela old campus in 1911. The building also served as the location for the National Library when it was founded in 1833. It is known as the "Palacio de las Academias".

Venezuela has a wide array of universities, offering courses in a broad variety of subjects, spread between a total 23 public and 24 private universities located across several states. As a result of a Royal Decree signed by Philip V of Spain, the Central University of Venezuela—the country's oldest—was founded in 1721 as "Universidad Real y Pontificia de Caracas". The campus was originally at the now-known "Palacio de las Academias" but, in 1944, president Isaías Medina Angarita relocated it to the University City of Caracas.

The second oldest university is the University of the Andes. Established in 1810 as the "Real Universidad de San Buenaventura de Mérida de los Caballeros", its origins date back to 1785 when Fray Juan Ramos de Lora [es] founded a priest school in the city of Mérida. The University of Zulia—the third-oldest university—was founded in 1891 when the Federal College of Maracaibo was converted into a university. The government ordered the closure of the university for political reasons in 1904, and it remained closed until 1946. The University of Carabobo is the last to be founded before the twentieth century by being established in 1892 and dating back to 1833 when the College of Carabobo was created by presidential decree. (Full article...)

Current events

22 August 2024 – 2024 Venezuelan presidential election
The Supreme Court of Venezuela certifies the results of the 2024 presidential election, denying claims that opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia won the election. (AP)
21 August 2024 – International reactions to the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election
The United States drafts a punitive sanctions list of sixty Venezuelan government officials from the country's National Electoral Council, Supreme Court, and counterintelligence police agency for alleged electoral fraud. (Reuters)
18 August 2024 –
An oil spill originating from the El Palito refinery in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, is reported to have contaminated more than 225 km2 (87 sq mi) of the Gulf of Paria as well as most of Morrocoy National Park. (Reuters)
18 August 2024 – 2024 Venezuelan presidential election
2024 Venezuelan protests
Venezuelan opposition officials and supporters gather in cities across the country to protest against President Nicolás Maduro and the results of the 2024 presidential election. (Reuters)
15 August 2024 – 2024 Venezuelan presidential election
International reactions to the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election

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Venezuelan patrol boat Naiguatá

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