Venezuelan National Militia
| Venezuelan National Bolivarian Militia Milicia Nacional Bolivariana de Venezuela |
|
|---|---|
Coat of Arms of the National Militia since 2011
|
|
| Founded | April 13, 2009 |
| Country |
 Venezuela |
| Allegiance |
 President of Venezuela |
| Branch | Militia |
| Type | Light infantry and military reserve |
| Role | Home defense, security of government facilities, reserve force of the Armed Forces |
| Size | 160,000 Militia personnel |
| Part of | National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela under the Ministry of People's Power for Defense |
| Garrison/HQ | Caracas |
| Patron | Our Lady the Divine Sheperdess |
| Motto(s) | Donde el Pueblo puede (Where the people can) |
| Colors | Black, White and Red |
| Anniversaries | April 13, National Militia Day |
| Commanders | |
| Commanding General of the National Militia | MGEN Cesar Vega González , Venezuelan Army |
The Venezuelan National Militia, officially the Venezuelan National Bolivarian Militia, is a militia branch of the National Armed Forces of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Its headquarters is at the National Military Museum, Fort Montana, Caracas. The Commanding General of the National Militia is Major General Cesar Vega González, Venezuelan Army, as of July 2015. The National Militia celebrates its anniversary every April 13 yearly.
According to the Article 46 of the organic law establishing the Militia, its functions are:
The General Command of the National Militia is divided in two branches of its own plus a third branch divided into the two:
Today the General Command of the National Militia is organized on the basis of nine Reserve groupings, present throughout the national territory, dozen Special Resistance Corps (grouped around workers contingents of state and private sector enterprises and national institutions at all levels) plus the territorial national service militia commands mentioned, and even a newly created national guards brigade, and in the future, armor and aviation units. It is an autonomous and auxiliary force for the Armed Forces' service branches, with its own chain of command and service arms, reporting directly to the President, the Minister of Defense and the Operational Strategic Command. It can be estimated at the present time about 400,000 men and women are on various training levels, but the target of its authorities is to reach 1,100,000 part-time servicemen and women in the coming years. Today more than 160,000 men and women serve actively in the militia, with plans to have a half-a-million-strong active force of reserve national servicemen and women in 2015.
The National Boliviarian Militia has been described as a "political army" created by Hugo Chávez that has hundreds of thousands of members in service, including military reservists and employees of state and public enterprises at all levels. The militia is "under the direct command of the president" as the Commander in Chief of the National Armed Forces (through the authority of the Defense Minister and the Commandant of the Operational Strategic Command) and "are trained to defend the (Bolivarian) revolution of internal and external enemies". It has been alleged by El Mundo that the militia has sometimes used "violence to silence dissent or journalists who do not bow to the discourse of the regime".
...
Wikipedia