Adán Chávez
Adán Chávez Frías is a Venezuelan politician who was Governor of Barinas state from 2008 to 2016 and again since 2021. Previously, he was Ambassador to Cuba and then Minister of Education from 2007 to 2008.
Guerrilla affiliations
Adán studied at the University of the Andes, in Mérida where he was involved with pro-guerrilla groups prior to the election of his brother Hugo into the presidency. Through Adán, Hugo met with guerrilla fighters Douglas Bravo and William Izarra.Political career
In 2008, he was elected as Governor of Barinas as the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) candidate, replacing his father Hugo de los Reyes Chávez.On March 7, 2019, he was appointed Venezuelan ambassador to Cuba by President Nicolás Maduro and since February 14, 2023, he has been the Rector (academia) of the Universidad Nacional Experimental de los Llanos Ezequiel Zamora.
Chávez has been critical of the United States government, stating to PSUV members in 2018 that "we have an enemy, the American empire is our fundamental enemy, nobody can get lost in the forest of other considerations".
Sanctions
United States
On 9 August 2017, the United States Department of the Treasury placed sanctions on Chávez for his position in the Presidential Commission in the 2017 Constituent Assembly of Venezuela.Canada
On 3 November 2017, the Government of Canada sanctioned Chávez as being someone who participated in "significant acts of corruption or who have been involved in serious violations of human rights".Panama
On 29 March 2018, Chávez was sanctioned by the Panamanian government for his alleged involvement with "money laundering, financing of terrorism and financing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction".Personal life
He is the eldest brother of Hugo Chávez, who was President of Venezuela from 1999 to 2013, the mayor of Sabaneta, Barinas, Anibal José Chávez Frías, his successor in the gubernatorial position, Argenis Chávez, who served for one term from 2016 to 2021 and three other brothers: Narciso, Enzo and Adelis.At a young age, his parents entrusted his upbringing and that of his brother Hugo to his paternal grandmother, Rosa Inés Chávez. He is married to Carmen Herenia Hernández Puente, born on February 26, 1954 in Merida since 1974, with whom he has four children namely Enzo,, Elena, Ernesto and Elyana. He also has nine grandchildren. Chávez is the great-grandson of the Venezuelan leader Pedro Pérez Delgado, known as Maisanta, leader of the anti-Gomecista rebellion, who in 1898 ended the life of former president Joaquín Crespo.