Portal:Venezuela

Frame from the film

Un célebre especialista sacando muelas en el gran Hotel Europa (English: A celebrated specialist pulling teeth at the grand Hotel Europa) was the first Venezuelan film. It was screened at the Baralt Theatre in Maracaibo, Zulia on 28 January 1897 as the second in a film block of four; the block also featured another film from Maracaibo (Muchachos bañándose en la laguna de Maracaibo: English: Children bathing at the lagoon of Maracaibo). Little is known about the film's production, and scholars are uncertain of the identity of its director.

No complete copies of the original film survive. During the 2010s, a reconstruction of the film was produced in Venezuela with preserved photographs from the original. In the film, a dental surgeon at the Hotel Europa in Maracaibo pulls a man's teeth. Although the subject matter could make it an early horror film, scholars agree that the film was an actuality film. (Full article...)

Sandoval with the Atlanta Braves in 2021

Pablo Emilio Sandoval Reyes (born August 11, 1986) is a Venezuelan-American professional baseball third baseman for the Staten Island FerryHawks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves. 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. 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...)

• 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 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 Gil Kim played professional baseball in the Netherlands, China, Australia, Spain, and Venezuela, scouted in Mexico and the Dominican Republic, and coaches in Canada?
• ... 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 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 after fleeing the Spanish Civil War to Venezuela, Spanish anarchist Concha Liaño became a supporter of Hugo Chávez?
• ... that the flag of La Guaira is based on the design of a banner from a 1797 conspiracy against Spanish rule in Venezuela?

The Salón de la Fama y Museo del Béisbol Venezolano (in English, the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum) is a nonprofit institution operated by private interests, which was founded on April 18, 2002, thanks to the vision of Carlos Daniel Cárdenas Lares. The institution is located at Centro Sambil, in Valencia, the capital city of Carabobo State and the third largest city of Venezuela.

The museum offers visitors the origins and growth of baseball in the world and the history of what is known as the National sport of Venezuela. It also shows, through its exhibitions, the most prominent players who have made significant achievements, as well as efforts to honor people who have highlighted the activity of baseball in Venezuela, recognizing and appreciating their impact on national culture and exalt those who have made outstanding contributions to the sport. (Full article...)

5 February 2025 – Mass deportation of illegal immigrants in the second presidency of Donald Trump

The first flight carrying "high-threat" deportees from the United States arrives at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. The ten deportees are allegedly part of Tren de Aragua, a transnational organized crime group originating from Venezuela recently designated as a terrorist organization by the United States. (The Independent)

31 January 2025 – United States–Venezuela relations

Venezuela frees six American hostages after U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Special Missions Richard Grenell meets with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. (The Hill)

29 January 2025 –

A Venezuelan Ministry of Interior, Justice and Peace Cessna Citation II aircraft crashes shortly after takeoff from Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda Air Base in Caracas, Venezuela, killing all three people on board. (Caraota Digital)

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)