From the ocean patrol boat AB “Kariña”, where he led the naval and air parade, on the 200th anniversary of the Naval Battle of Lake Maracaibo, and to commemorate that July 24, 1823, the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and Commander-in-Chief of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB), Nicolás Maduro, exalted that the lesson of this heroic day is the awareness of knowing that there must be a permanent guard watching over the sovereignty of the Homeland, the peace and the independence of Venezuela:
“If this teaches us something, is that we should never overconfide, that we must be on permanent alert, watching over the sovereignty of the Homeland, watching over the peace of the Homeland, watching over the independence of Venezuela, always caring for and protecting our people, taking care of our lakes and our seas. The Caribbean façade, the Atlantic façade”, he underlined.
He emphasized to the military components: “Our Bolivarian National Armed Forces, stand on guard, on permanent alert, vigilance and protection to guarantee the stability, territorial integrity and peace of the Republic”, while inviting them to draw “great lessons from the great history of the Homeland that Venezuela has, and that our deep America and our Great Homeland have”.
The national dignitary revealed that he had shared messages with officials and told them that “the Homeland will never be lost in our hands,” while he took an oath with those present:
“Let’s swear from Lake Maracaibo, let’s swear in front of the city of Maracaibo, let’s swear, 200 years after the victory of the Naval Battle of the Lake, let’s swear to consolidate the independence of Venezuela, let’s swear to consolidate peace, swear to build prosperity, let’s swear from the heart for Bolívar, Sucre, Rafael Urdaneta, let’s swear for the Homeland,” he said, committed.
“Long live Maracaibo, long live the Homeland, long live Bolívar, long live the victory of the Naval Battle of the Lake!” exclaimed the Venezuelan Head of State.
Heroic battle and Bolivarian Navy:
In this emblematic act, on the 200th anniversary of the Naval Battle of Lake Maracaibo, President Maduro also asserted that, from this battle and heroic victory, “our Bolivarian Navy” was born, which is why he indicated that “our Bolivarian Navy today is an anti-imperialist, anti-colonialist Bolivarian Navy, due to the deep roots that we bring from that battle.”
Also in his words, the Head of State confirmed that the Naval Battle of the Lake “was planned with the fishermen, the indigenous peoples, with the zambo, mestizo peoples, with the black peoples, with the women, with the patriots of that time”.
“A day like today in this wonderful and sacred lake of Maracaibo, with this sun that fills with energy and strength, 200 years ago our grandfathers and grandmothers fought and obtained the great victory of the Battle of the Lake, defeating the Armada of the Spanish empire, surrendering it to patriotic arms and signing the capitulation that expressed in its letters the definitive expulsion of the military forces of Spain from the territory of Colombia, from the territory of Venezuela. That was the great victory that crowned the battle of Carabobo and that crowned the battle for independence of these lands, of these heroic peoples,” recalled President Nicolás Maduro.
The national President expressed his satisfaction that the day had to arrive, and the day did arrive, referring to July 24, 2023:
“Two hundred years after the great victory of the people of Maracaibo, of the people of Zulia, of the people of Gran Colombia, Bolivarian Colombia, a heroic victory of the already civic-military union of that time, of the Liberation Army created by Bolívar, of the Great Republic of Colombia, against the Spanish Armada that was called the unbeatable Armada of the European empires, they had reconquered Maracaibo, after the victory of Carabobo, they had occupied Puerto Cabello and the Liberation Army He took charge of a large land and sea operation that resulted in the recovery of Zulia for the Homeland”.
