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Portal:Venezuela

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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 various islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It comprises an area of 912,050 km2 (352,140 sq mi), with a population estimated at 31.8 million in 2025. The capital and largest urban agglomeration is Caracas. The continental territory is bordered on the north by the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Colombia, on the south by Brazil, on the east by Guyana, and on the northeast by Trinidad and Tobago. Venezuela consists of 23 states, the Capital District, and the Federal Dependencies covering Venezuela's offshore islands. Venezuela is among the most urbanized countries in Latin America, with an estimated urbanization rate of 88.4% in 2022. The vast majority of Venezuelans live in urban areas in the north, including 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 fully 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. From 1958, the country 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. Economic shocks in the 1980s and 1990s led to major political crises and widespread social unrest, including the deadly Caracazo riots of 1989, two attempted coups in 1992, and the impeachment of a president for embezzlement of public funds charges in 1993. Confidence in the existing political parties collapsed during the 1998 Venezuelan presidential election, in which Hugo Chávez was elected and which became the catalyst for the Bolivarian Revolution. During the 1999 Constituent Assembly, a new Constitution of Venezuela was written and ratified.

Venezuela is officially a federal presidential republic, but has experienced democratic backsliding into an authoritarian state under the Chávez and Maduro administrations. It ranks poorly on international measurements of freedom of the press, civil liberties, and control of corruption. Venezuela is a developing country, has the world's largest known oil reserves, and has been one of the world's leading exporters of oil. Previously, the country was an underdeveloped exporter of agricultural commodities such as coffee and cocoa, but oil quickly came to dominate exports and government revenues. Venezuela struggles with hyperinflation, shortages of basic goods, unemployment, poverty, disease, high child mortality, malnutrition, environmental issues, severe crime, widespread corruption, and U.S. sanctions which have precipitated the Venezuelan refugee crisis where more than 7.9 million people had fled the country. The crisis in Venezuela has contributed to a rapidly deteriorating human rights situation. (Full article...)

Location in Miranda

El Hatillo Municipality (Spanish: Municipio El Hatillo) is an administrative division of the State of Miranda, Venezuela; along with Baruta, Chacao, Libertador and Sucre, it is one of the five municipalities of Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. It is located in the southeastern area of Caracas, and in the northwestern part of the State of Miranda.

The seat of the municipal government is El Hatillo Town, founded in 1784 by Don Baltasar de León, who was instrumental in the area's development. Although the town had its origins during the Spanish colonisation, the municipality was not established until 1991. In 2000 – the year after a new constitution was enacted in Venezuela – some of the municipality functions were delegated to a consolidated mayor's office called Alcaldía Mayor, which also has some authority over the other four municipalities of Caracas. (Full article...)

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Sandoval with the Atlanta Braves in 2021

Pablo Emilio Sandoval Reyes (born August 11, 1986) is a Venezuelan-American professional baseball third baseman who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox, and Atlanta Braves and most recently for the Staten Island FerryHawks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He stands 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall, and weighs 268 pounds (122 kg). Nicknamed "Kung Fu Panda", Sandoval is a two-time All-Star and has won three World Series championships with the Giants and one with the Braves. He hit three home runs in Game 1 of the 2012 World Series, becoming the fourth player to hit three home runs in a World Series game, leading to his being named that year's World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP). During the offseason, Sandoval plays for the Navegantes del Magallanes of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (VPBL).

In 2002, Sandoval was signed by the San Francisco Giants. Sandoval worked his way through the minor leagues and debuted with the Giants in 2008, batting .345 in 41 games. Capable of playing first base, third base, and catcher, he became the Giants' starting third baseman in 2009, ceasing to catch that year and playing first base only occasionally. In 2009, Sandoval finished second in All-Star Final Vote balloting, batting .330 with 25 home runs and 90 runs batted in (RBIs) in his first full season in the majors. However, Sandoval struggled in 2010 and was benched during the playoffs for the 2010 World Series, which the Giants won. He lost weight before 2011 and hit .315 with 23 home runs in 117 games. Injuries limited Sandoval to 109 games in 2012, but he was selected to his second-straight All-Star Game. Then, in Game 1 of the 2012 World Series, Sandoval joined Babe Ruth, Reggie Jackson, and Albert Pujols as the only players to hit three home runs in a World Series Game. For his contributions, Sandoval was named the World Series Most Valuable Player, as the Giants swept the Detroit Tigers. In 2013, he appeared in 141 games, batting .278, with 14 home runs, and 79 RBIs. (Full article...)

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Rómulo Betancourt in 1946

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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. Formally established in 1810 as the "Real Universidad de San Buenaventura de Mérida de los Caballeros", the university began as a priest school founded by Fray Juan Ramos de Lora [es] in the city of Mérida in 1785. 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

17 September 2026 – Censorship and media control during the Venezuelan presidential crisis
Venezuela restores access to 17 news websites that were previously blocked, including EFE, El Nacional, NTN24, and Semana, as the interim government and opposition resume political transition talks that include freedom of expression. (AFP via Gulf News)
28 August 2026 – United States–Venezuela relations
The United States and Venezuela agree to expand U.S. access to Venezuelan oil reserves under a deal involving US$100 billion in private investment, while Venezuela retains ownership of its petroleum resources. (AFP via France 24)
25 August 2026 – 2026 Venezuela earthquakes
The death toll for the earthquakes in Venezuela this June exceeds past 6,500, with a total of 6,509 deaths reported. (The Straits Times)

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Venezuelan patrol boat Naiguatá

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