Portal:Venezuela

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...)

Mount Kukenán

Pablo Emilio Sandoval Reyes (born August 11, 1986) is a Venezuelan-American professional baseball third baseman who is a free agent. He 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 Tiféret Israel Synagogue, the oldest in Caracas, Venezuela, was profaned during the 2008–2009 Gaza War?
• ... 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 for the construction of the Mediterranean-style Jesús Soto Museum of Modern Art, architect Carlos Raúl Villanueva brought builders from Spain to Venezuela?
• ... that as a lobbyist for Bacardi, Otto Reich, a former U.S. ambassador to Venezuela, played a role in passing legislation that stripped trademark protection from Havana Club rum?
• ... that eleven people, nine of them minors, died in a sugar plantation fire in Cagua, Venezuela, while trying to hunt rabbits?
• ... that when elected as mayor, Venezuelan politician Gloria Lizárraga de Capriles did not have her own office and worked from a shopping mall?

Román Chalbaud worked in Venezuelan film, television and theatre, starting in 1951 and continuing to direct, write, and produce works until his death in 2023. Though most famous for his Golden Age films, he is also renowned in Venezuela as part of the "Holy Trinity" of theater for his contributions not only in playwriting, but also in direction and production. Besides these, he wrote and created many television series and telenovelas, and occasionally acted in both his own and his contemporaries' works. Chalbaud's continuing work into his old age may be due to his affiliation with the successive Venezuelan governments, which have funded his works since such programs began. (Full article...)

22 October 2023 – Elections in Venezuela

2023 Unitary Platform presidential primaries

Venezuelan opposition parties hold their first presidential primary since 2012. (AP)

18 October 2023 – United States–Venezuela relations

The U.S. Treasury Department announces an ease of certain oil, gas, and gold sanctions on Venezuela following the Venezuelan government and opposition's agreement to conduct elections. (AFP via France 24)

15 October 2023 – Israeli–Palestinian conflict

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announces the provision of 30 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Gaza. (Reuters)

7 October 2023 – Venezuelan presidential crisis

Venezuela issues an arrest warrant through Interpol for Juan Guaidó, who is currently in-exile in the United States, citing crimes of treason, usurpation of functions and money laundering. (DW)

6 October 2023 – Oaxaca migrant bus crash

Seventeen people are killed and fifteen others are injured after a bus carrying migrants from Venezuela crashes in Oaxaca, Mexico. (Reuters)