The President of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro, leads the act on the occasion of the Bicentennial of the Naval Battle of Lake Maracaibo and the 240th anniversary of the birth of the Liberator Simón Bolívar.
The Head of State inaugurated from La Vereda del Lago, in Zulia state, Bicentennial Epic Monument “Naval Battle of Lake Maracaibo” located in the so-called Paseo Escultórico, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the war that sealed the independence of Venezuela.
The central axis of the monument is the battle between royalist and patriotic boats, the libertarian heroes (admirals and captains) and the people in arms (Afro-descendants, ethnic groups, anonymous heroes and heroines), in addition to Lake Maracaibo.
The entire work is represented on a reflecting floor in an elliptical shape.
Built by the AMB Corps of Engineers, this work contains iconic elements with recreational and cultural visual attractions, which are presented in a harmonious combination under an urban concept to rescue Venezuelan history.
“The lake promenade is beautiful so that you have your heroes, our heroes, the heroes of the great homeland, present on a victorious day like today, July 24. My greetings to all the people of Zulia and the people of Venezuela and the people of the great homeland, today the day of the victory of the Naval Battle of the Lake”, pronounced the first national president during his tour of the monument.
From the Paseo Vereda del Lago de Maracaibo in the Zulia state, the Venezuelan Head of State authorized the civic-military air-naval parade, as part of the activities carried out on the Bicentennial of the Naval Battle, while greeting the members of the Bolivarian National Navy (ANB) for the commemoration of the day of this military component.
Participating in the parade are boats, boats, helicopters, sea commando groups, amphibious vehicles on deck, as well as the “Simón Bolívar” Training Ship (BE-11) and Bolivarian Military Aviation (AMB) aircraft in formation.
The story of the Naval Battle of the Lake
On July 24, 1823, the naval combat resulted in a decisive victory for the Republican forces, thus overthrowing the Spanish squadron and forcing it to surrender and withdraw its troops.
More than 920 marines, 12 schooners, 3 brigantines, 16 smaller ships and 67 artillery pieces participated for the royalists.
Meanwhile, the Republicans had more than 870 war sailors, 7 schooners, 3 brigantines, 85 artillery pieces and volunteers, as well as weapons.
This victory was followed by the capitulation signed on August 3 of the same year, where Latin America is recognized as a free territory and marks the end of all Spanish domination.
Maduro asks to “keep your guard up”
During the parade, Maduro highlighted that 200 years ago “Bolivarian Colombia” defeated the Spanish Armada, which was called the Unbeatable Armada of the European Empires.
“The liberation army took charge of a large land and sea operation that resulted in the Zulia campaign, the recovery of Zulia for the homeland,” he said.
He stressed that the battle was planned “with the fishermen, with the indigenous peoples, with the zambo peoples, mestizos, with the black peoples, with the women, with the patriots of that time.”
“Our Bolivarian Army today is an anti-imperialist, anti-colonialist Bolivarian Army, because of the deep roots that we bring from that battle,” he exalted.
The Venezuelan head of state reflected on the independence history of Venezuela and affirmed that “we must never trust ourselves, that we must have the Guard on permanent alert, watching over the sovereignty of the homeland, watching over the peace of the homeland, watching over the independence of Venezuela, caring for and protecting our people, always taking care of our lakes and our seas on the Caribbean side, the Atlantic side.”
For this reason, the Commander-in-Chief of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces also ordered to keep our guard up and on “permanent alert, to guarantee the stability, territorial integrity and peace of the Republic.”
“In our hands the homeland will never be lost. We swear from Lake Maracaibo, we swear in front of the city of Maracaibo, we swear 200 years after the victory of the Naval Battle of the Lake, we swear to defend the homeland, we swear to defend the people, we swear to consolidate the independence of Venezuela, we swear to consolidate peace, we swear to build prosperity, we swear from the heart for Bolívar, for Sucre, for Rafael Urdaneta, let’s swear for the homeland,” Maduro closed.
