Bolivarian National Guard of Venezuela


The Bolivarian National Guard of Venezuela, is a gendarmerie component of the National Armed Forces of Venezuela. The national guard can serve as gendarmerie, perform civil defense roles, or serve as a reserve light infantry force. The national guard was founded on 4 August 1937 by the then President of the Republic, General-in-Chief Eleazar López Contreras. The motto of the GNB is "El Honor es su divisa", slightly different from the motto of the Spanish Civil Guard "El Honor es mi divisa".
The branch is recognized for its human rights violations under the Bolivarian government and its alleged involvement in international drug trafficking through the Cartel of the Suns.

History

The National Guard traces its roots to the gendarmerie and rural police formations organized in 1811 by the National Government and in the subsequent National Police Guard raised in 1841 by President José Antonio Páez, both later disbanded.

Founding

In 1934, the Defense Minister General in Chief Eleazar López Contreras, busy with the preparations for his own presidency and in his duty of creating and expanding the national army and navy, realized the long need of public security in a time of civil unrest under President Juan Vicente Gómez, in their meetings during that year. In the middle of the year, he had conversations with Venezuelan diplomat Rufino Blanco Fombona, who suggested forming a national gendarmerie modeled on the successes of the Spanish Civil Guard and on the Peruvian Civil Guard, as well as the various other police forces in South America.
Thus the idea of forming the National Guard was born.
On August 31, 1934, the Ministry of War and Navy Resolution no. 188 created the Technical Services School, located in Fort Paez, Maracay. The school trained technical service personnel in military technologies and public security. Its Special Classes course arrived the next year.
Upon the death of General Gomez on December 17, 1935, Lopez Contreas became president. The next year, as Commander in Chief of the armed forces, he ordered the raising of a National Frontier Police to protect the national borders and raised mounted security units to protect the peace in the Venezuelan plains. In that same year, a Spanish military mission arrived to help form and train a fully national police force, led by Captain Cecillo Suarez of the Civil Guard. The Technical Services School's Special Classes, by that year, moved to Caracas, became independent and on September 16, 1935, was disbanded.
The next day a Presidential decree ordered the formation of the Public Security Agents Formation School. It opened in Villa Zolia, Caracas on October 28 the same year, with Captain Suarez as its principal guest. His speech implied the basic principles of the future national police force: As "sentinels of the people", a part of the armed forces as a public order and security service, maintaining the law and order, defending social lives and to become the "armed shoulder of the Executive Power" and as an intervening force in times of disorder.
On August 4, 1937, the National Guard was raised via a Presidential Decree of President Eleazar López Contreras, published in the Official Gazette. The presidential decree divided the National Guard into the National Guard of the Interior and the Frontier National Guard, and set its joint command structure under the Ministries of War and Navy and of the Interior and Justice, absorbing into the new service the personnel of the National Frontier Police. As a national police force, it was mandated to have its own investigations service. As a result, the PSAFS became first the National Police Academy and later the National Public Security Academy.
On its first graduation on October 12, 1937, Sgt. Martin Torres gave an emotional address to his fellow graduates and to the honorary guests, thanking the Government and the Spanish military mission for forming the new service. The Mission organized the new service until 1941 and thus completed the Charter of the National Guard, with its motto, "Honor is Its Emblem". The first National Guard station opened in Tachira on December 6 the same year.
In 1938, Congress passed the National Security Service Law. On November 8, Major Francisco de Paula Angarita Arvelo, Venezuelan Army, was appointed the first Commanding General of the National Guard, thus the National Guard became an independent arm of the Army. In 1940 the first officer training course was commenced. The service was hit hard by a 1941 reduction but debuted, with the help of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States, the Military and Police Intelligence Training courses, in 1944. In the same year, via General Orders 16 on April 13 that same year, its joint command structure and duties were amended and the service was formed into a brigade-sized formation.

Fourth Republic of Venezuela

In 1945, the service defended the government of President Isaias Medina Angarita against a coup. In the aftermath, now Lieutenant Torres assumed the leadership of the National Guard becoming the first National Guard officer to become the commanding general, and the service adopted the green uniforms of the Venezuelan Army, abandoning its earlier blue uniforms. Several of the officers of the service had earlier served in the Army before, and in the earlier days, the officer corps was made up of Army officers seconded into the service.
In 1946, it became the Armed Forces of Cooperation. The National Guard Academy and the National Guardsmen Formation School were both created that year. The National Guard held its first officers' graduation in 1947 at its Villa Zolia campus.
A Chilean military mission led by the Carabineros de Chile helped reorganize the National Guard in the same year. Partly as a result it later expanded its responsibilities in the 1950s to include penitentiary protection and security, maritime security, forestry protection, and highway patrol duties as well as security in the tourism sector and even in dog handling. Its present formation of 12 regional commands dates from 1950 when the 1st Regional Command was raised. In the late 1970s, the Guard established its own air arm.

Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

Following the Bolivarian Revolution, the Venezuelan National Guard was renamed the Bolivarian National Guard of Venezuela.
Since then, the GNB have cooperated with paramilitaries known as colectivos within the country.

Organization

The National Guard is structured as follows.
  • Commanding General of the National Guard : LTG Juvenal José Fernández López
  • General Staff of the National Guard: Chief of Staff of the National Guard: MG Elio Infante Viloria
  • Inspector General's Command: Inspector General of the National Guard: Division General Alejandro Constantino Kerelis Bucarito
  • Personnel Command: Commanding General, Personnel Command: Division General Octavio Javier Chacón Guzmán
  • Logistics Command: Director General, Logistics Command: Division General Richard López Vargas
  • * National Guard HQ Support Regiment
  • * 1st Support Detachment
  • * 2nd Support Detactment
  • * 3rd Support Detacthment
  • Operations Command: Operations Director of the National Guard: Division General Sergio Rivero Marcano
Controls eight or more Mobile Detachments of battalion or regiment size available for deployment to any area of the country in response to threats to internal security or border security.
The command has under its control all nine "regional commands" which control local battalion or regiment-sized National Guard detachments which provide the static defense of certain public buildings, oil installations, and penal institutions and for the maintenance of public security. They patrol the nation's highway system, functioning as a federal highway police force.
They serve as the nation's coast guard and maritime search and rescue service, co-sharing with the Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela's Coast Guard Command in this duty in the coastal states. These are now subdivided into state-level zone commands serving all the states of Venezuela. Most of the RCs and SZCs also control the 16 local rural service commando battalions for keeping order in rural communities, but only the Caracas Capital District ZS has none, instead of having 7 area detachments as of present with 3 regiment sized.
  • *Regional Command 1 San Antonio de Tachira, Tachira State
  • ** Tachira National Guard Zone Command
  • ** Mérida National Guard Zone Command
  • * Regional Command 2 Valencia, Carabobo State
  • ** Cojedes National Guard Zone Command
  • ** Carabobo National Guard Zone Command
  • ** Aragua National Guard Zone Command
  • * Regional Command 3 Maracaibo, Zulia State
  • ** Zulia National Guard Zone Command
  • * Regional Command 4 Barquisimeto, Lara State
  • ** Lara National Guard Zone Command
  • ** Falcon National Guard Zone Command
  • ** Yaracuy National Guard Zone Command
  • * Regional Command 5 Caracas, Capital District
  • ** Venezuelan Capital District National Guard Zone Command
  • ** Vargas and Federal Dependencies National Guard Zone Command
  • ** Orinoco Oil Fields Special Zone Command
  • ** Miranda and Insular Territory National Guard Zone Command
  • * Regional Command 6 San Fernando de Apure, Apure State
  • ** Apure National Guard Zone Command
  • ** Barinas National Guard Zone Command
  • ** Portuguesa National Guard Zone Command
  • * Regional Command 7 Barcelona, Anzoategui State
  • ** Guarico National Guard Zone Command
  • ** Anzoátegui National Guard Zone Command
  • ** Nueva Esparta National Guard Zone Command
  • ** Sucre National Guard Zone Command
  • * Regional Command 8 Puerto Ordaz, Bolivar State
  • ** Bolivar National Guard Zone Command
  • ** Delta Amaruco National Guard Zone Command
  • * Regional Command 9 Puerto Ayacucho, Amazonas State
  • ** Amazonas National Guard Zone Command
  • * Air Operations Command
  • * Coastal Vigilance Command - Commanding General, CVC: Brigadier General Alex Ramón Barreno Oberto
  • * National Guard Customs Security Service
  • * National Guard Frontier Detachments
  • * National Guard Public Order and Security Units
  • * National Guard Corps of Engineers
  • * National Guard Criminal Investigations Service
  • Education Command: Commander, Education Command: Division General Jose Eliecer Pinto Gutiérrez
  • *National Guard Military Academy
  • * National Guard Formation Schools
  • * National Guard Military High School "CPT Pedro Maria Ochoa Morales"
  • Special Operations Command
  • * Commando Action Group of the National Guard
  • * National Guard Rural Commando Detachments
  • People's Guards National Command - Commanding General, People's Guards National Command: Brigadier General Josué Dulcey Parada
Created by Hugo Chávez in 2011 for Guardsmen mandated for police protection alongside the Bolivarian National Police and aimed at keeping peace and order as well as fighting against drug-related and alcohol-related crimes and the illegal arms and drug trade in the country. They also help in public works repairs and ensuring security during major holidays.
The service today is composed of 17 state-level People's Guards Regiments in several of the States of Venezuela and the Venezuelan Capital District, with more to be raised soon, together with 29 independent People's Guards Battalions and 21 Public Safety Battalions in major cities nationwide. The regiments are each divided into 2 to 4 battalion-sized detachments and a headquarters unit.
  • Anti-Drug National Command - Commanding General: Brigadier General Arturo Olivar Moreno
This command is in charge of combating the use and spread of illegal drugs in Venezuela and works with other South American police forces in fighting the illegal drug trade in the continent.
  • National Development Department
  • National Guard Environmental Security Service Directorate
Mandated for the protection of Venezuela's natural resources, especially the ancestral lands of its indigenous peoples, and the enforcement of environmental laws.
  • Social Action Division of the National Guard
  • Anti-Extortion and Kidnapping National Command
The newest command of the National Guard mandated to counter financial crimes and serious criminal activities formed up of the National Guard Anti-Extortion and Kidnapping Groups in every Venezuelan state, created in April 2013. All the states plus the Capital District have one AESG detachment each to fight serious crimes. The command is led by Brigadier General Alexis Escalona Marrero.