Venezuelan National Guard
| Bolivarian National Guard of Venezuela Guardia Nacional Bolivariana de Venezuela |
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National Guard emblem
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| Founded | 1937 |
| Country | Venezuela |
| Branch | National Armed Forces of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela |
| Type | Military Police |
| Role | Gendarmerie, forestry protection, civil defense, public order and safety, border control, highway security, coastal security |
| Size | 9 Regional Commands and 24 Zone Commands |
| Part of | Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Interior and Justice |
| Patron | Our Lady of the Rosary of Chiquinquirá |
| Motto(s) | El honor es su divisa (Honor is its emblem) |
| Colors | Maroon |
| Anniversaries | August 4, National Guard Day |
| Commanders | |
| Minister of the Interior, Justice and Peace | Major General Nestor Luis Reverol Torres |
| Commanding General of the National Guard | Major General Antonio Benavidez Torrez |
| Insignia | |
| Flag |  |
The Bolivarian National Guard of Venezuela (Spanish: Guardia Nacional de Venezuela), also called the Armed Forces of Cooperation (Spanish: Fuerzas Armadas de Cooperación), is one of the four components of the National Armed Forces of Venezuela. The national guard can serve as gendarmerie, perform civil defense roles, or serve as a reserve light infantry force. The national guard was founded 4 August 1937 by the then President of the Republic, General-in-Chief Eleazar López Contreras. The motto of the NG is "El Honor es su divisa" (Honor is its currency), different from the motto of the Spanish Civil Guard.
The National Guard used unlawful force and tortured anti-government demonstrators during the 2014 Venezuelan protests, during which nine guardsmen were killed.
The National Guard traces its roots to the gendarmerie and rural police formations organized in 1811 by the National Government and in the subsequent National Police Guard raised in 1841 by President José Antonio Páez, both later disbanded.
In 1934, then Defense Minister General in Chief Eleazar López Contreras, busy with the preparations for his own presidency and in his duty of creating and expanding the national army and navy, realized the long need of public security in a time of civil unrest under President Juan Vicente Gómez, in their meetings during that year. In the middle of the year he had conversations with Venezuelan diplomat Rufino Blanco Fombona, who suggested forming a national gendarmerie modeled on the successes of the Spanish Civil Guard and on the Peruvian Civil Guard, as well as the various other police forces in South America.
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Wikipedia