Venezuelan military ranks

A new law approved in July 2008 changed the military ranks of Venezuela. The law was sanctioned by Venezuela's National Assembly, in terms of names, functions and commanding regulation of the armed forces.

The main changes are for the General Officer Ranks, with the incorporation of the “Comandante en Jefe” rank, the upgrading of the “General en Jefe/Almirante en Jefe” Rank to that of a full 4-star general/flag officer rank, and the creation of the “Mayor General/Almirante” Rank.

Even before these legal changes, the Venezuelan Military ranks system were always notably complex and differs a lot from other armies in Latin America. It has 3 types of Non Commissioned Officers: Technical NCO's and Warrant Officers, Professional NCO's and Enlisted NCO's, the largest ever in any military force worldwide.

The office of the Venezuelan military supreme commander has always been held by the President of Venezuela as per constitutional requirements, however with the new law sanctioned in 2008, the “Comandante en Jefe” is not only a function and an appointment attributed to the executive branch, but is now set to be a military rank equivalent to a Five Stars General or a Marshall. Anybody who gets elected President of Venezuela is automatically made a full general of the National Armed Forces and may be granted full military uniform, but he may wear it or not depending on the circumstances.

Hugo Chávez left the Army as a lieutenant colonel in 1992, but when he became president he adopted the uniform of "Commander in Chief", with distinctive shoulder badge and sleeve and epaulette insignia and carried a saber similar to Simon Bolivar's in military events. During the Nicolas Maduro administration however, the rank insignia and epaulette (as well as the saber) were not worn by him during major military events, instead preferring to wear civilian dress or suits during formal events (with the national flag sash and the presidential medal).

This rank holds the direct operational control and command over all armed forces, and is held while he is in the presidential office.

The position is a copy of the one used by Fidel Castro in Cuba, and the design of the shoulder patch are very similar, but not in the shoulder board and epaulette on the dress uniform since Venezuelan military ranks are inspired by German (especially Prussian) military influence, and thus is similar to a Marshal of the German Democratic Republic but with a dark red star inside.

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Wikipedia