Portal:Venezuela

Distribution of Oryzomys gorgasi (blue) and the related O. couesi (red) in northwestern South America.

Oryzomys gorgasi, also known as Gorgas's oryzomys or Gorgas's rice rat, is a rodent in the genus Oryzomys of family Cricetidae. First recorded in 1967, it is known from only a few localities, including a freshwater swamp in the lowlands of northwestern Colombia and a mangrove islet in northwestern Venezuela. It reportedly formerly occurred on the island of Curaçao off northwestern Venezuela; this extinct population has been described as a separate species, Oryzomys curasoae, but does not differ morphologically from mainland populations.

Oryzomys gorgasi is a medium-sized, brownish species with large, semiaquatically specialized feet. It differs from other Oryzomys species in several features of its skull. Its diet includes crustaceans, insects, and plant material. The species is listed as "Endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as a result of destruction of its habitat and competition with the introduced black rat (Rattus rattus). (Full article...)

Castillo at the 2011 Military World Games

Víctor Manuel Castillo Petit (born 8 June 1981) is a Venezuelan track and field athlete who specialises in the long jump. His personal best jump is 8.34 metres, a Venezuelan record achieved in May 2004 in Cochabamba.

He won the South American junior title in 2000 and rose to become the South American Champion in 2003 on home soil. At the 2003 Pan American Games, he took the bronze medal. Castillo appeared at the World Championships in Athletics that year and later represented his country at the 2004 Summer Olympics. (Full article...)

• May 2, 1816 – The Battle of Los Frailes is fought around the Los Frailes Archipelago.
• May 2, 1952 – The Sierra Nevada National Park is founded.
• May 3, 1502 – In present-day Venezuela, the Spanish conquistadors led by Alonso de Ojeda founded the village of Santa Cruz de Coquibacoa, the first European settlement in the Americas.
• May 5, 1883 – Birth of Eleazar López Contreras, soldier and politician, President of Venezuela (d. 1973)
• May 6, 1873 – Death of José Antonio Páez, politician and independence leader, three-time President of Venezuela (b. 1790)
• May 13, 1958 – During a visit to Caracas, Venezuela, US Vice President Richard Nixon's car is attacked by anti-American demonstrators.
• May 14, 1777 – In Madrid, Carlos III created the Protomedicato de Caracas by royal decree, thus beginning medical studies in Venezuela.
• May 18, 1499 – Alonso de Ojeda sets sail from Cádiz on his voyage to what is now Venezuela.
• May 21, 2014 – Death of Jaime Lusinchi, physician and politician, President of Venezuela (b. 1924)
• May 24, 1813 – South American independence leader Simón Bolívar enters Mérida, leading the invasion of Venezuela, and is proclaimed El Libertador ("The Liberator").
• May 27, 1924 – Birth of Jaime Lusinchi, physician and politician, President of Venezuela (d. 2014)
• May 27, 2007 – Hugo Chávez controversially closes the private television station Radio Caracas Television (RCTV); the next day he replaces it with a state-run television service.

• ... that after fleeing the Spanish Civil War to Venezuela, Spanish anarchist Concha Liaño became a supporter of Hugo Chávez?
• ... that the only two Venezuelans ever to play for the NFL, Pat Ragusa and Alan Pringle, played a combined total of four regular-season games?
• ... that during the Venezuelan general strike of 2002–2003, all but one of Venezuelan chocolatier María Fernanda Di Giacobbe's ten businesses went bankrupt?
• ... that Carlos Santana Tovar, who represented Amazonas in the 1952 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly, was taken hostage during the 1921 revolution and escaped only years later?
• ... that the current flag of Falcón, a state of Venezuela, was first hoisted at the Monument to the Venezuelan Federation in 2006 and is based on the design of the 1806 naval flag of Francisco de Miranda?
• ... that the flag of La Guaira is based on the design of a banner from a 1797 conspiracy against Spanish rule in Venezuela?

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...)

14 January 2025 –

The government of Venezuela lifts its ban on the social media and instant messaging app Telegram. (TechRadar)

13 January 2025 –

Venezuelan attorney general Tarek Saab asks for an arrest warrant and a red notice from Interpol against opposition figure Leopoldo López, who is currently in exile. Venezuela accuses López of instigating the use of arms against the state and treason, among other charges. (Reuters)

11 January 2025 –

A person throws a Molotov cocktail at the consulate of Venezuela in Lisbon, Portugal. No injuries are reported. (Euronews)

10 January 2025 – Colombia–Venezuela relations

The government of Venezuela closes the border with Colombia ahead of the swearing-in of Nicolás Maduro for a third term as President of Venezuela. (Le Monde)

10 January 2025 – International reactions to the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election, United States–Venezuela relations, Sanctions during the Venezuelan crisis

U.S. authorities announce an increased $25 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. (BBC News)

10 January 2025 – 2024 Venezuelan political crisis

Third inauguration of Nicolás Maduro