Pro-Government Militias
Bolivarian Militia (Venezuela)
Basic Group Information
| Name assigned by coder: | no |
| PGM ID Number: | 498 |
| Country: | Venezuela |
| Date formed: | Aug. 1, 2008 |
| Accuracy of date formed: | year |
| Details of Formation: | The PGM was created by Hugo Chavez through a decree on the armed forces. |
| Date dissolved: | Unknown |
| Accuracy of date dissolved: | day |
| Details of Termination: | |
| Termination Type(s): | not terminated |
Former and Successor Group Information
| Predecessor group(s): | none |
| Successor group(s): | none |
| Private Military Company? | no |
| Former Group? | no |
| Former Armed Group? | no |
| Former Rebel Group? | no |
| Former Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
| PGM Becomes Rebel Group? | no information |
| Successor Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
Government Relation, Support, and Training
| Government Relation: | semi-official (type 2) |
| Created by the Government?: | yes | Main Creating Government Institution: | person/minister |
| Government Link(s): | person/minister |
| If link to party, name of party: | |
| Training and Equipment: | yes |
| Shared Information and Joint Operations: | yes |
| Shared Personnel: | yes |
| Type(s) of Material Support: | domestic government |
| State Sponsor(s): | Cuba; Iran |
| Other Connection(s): |
Group Characteristics
| Membership: | ideology; security forces; unemployed; students; peasants |
| Primary Membership: | no information |
| Alternative Primary Membership: | no information |
| Location: | Caracas |
| Force Strength: | [20000, 850000] |
| Target(s): | unarmed political opposition, government critics; journalists; foreign military |
| Purpose(s): | protect state, national or religious institutions; protect state, national or religious leader(s); protect national borders and integrity; protect property and investment; self-defense and security; intimidate political opposition |
Ethnic Characteristics
| Ethnic Target(s): | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Targeting: | not applicable |
| Ethnic Membership: | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Membership: | not applicable |
| Ethnic Purpose: | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Purpose: | not applicable |
Other Information
| Other Information: |
New Variables from Meta-Analysis
Purpose
| Purpose: | The Bolivarian Militia serves a wide arrange of purposes, including territorial defense and ensuring public security and institutions (Wikipedia). Their main purpose seems to be to ensure political support for Hugo Chavez and act against political opposition. |
| Relative Benefit(s) of PGM Use | coup-proofing |
Treatment of Civilians
| Treatment of Civilians: | The Bolivarian militia has used violence against political opposition and critical journalists (Wikipedia). The government gave them a mandate and support so they could implement a policy of repression (Amnesty International 2017). |
| Type(s) of Violence against Civilians: | unknown |
Reasons for Membership
| PGM Members Coerced? | no |
| PGM Members Paid? | yes |
| Reasons for Membership: | Many members say that they benefit from free state education programmes or work as public employees. In some cases members received payments for showing up. |
| PGM Members Killed? | no information |
PGM Size
| Size: | At the end of 2008, the militia had 850,000 members in its two branches according to its commander. In 2010, the Public Works Minister estimated the size at 120,000, and in 2012 a number between 20,000 and 200,000 is mentioned. In 2013, there were 120,000, with one quarter of these being combat ready. After the 2017 crisis in Venezuela, Maduro announced that the militia should be expanded to 500,000 members (Wikipedia). |
Weapons and Training
| Weapons and Training: | The militia is armed with small arms and light weapons, as well as fire assault rifles. The group is trained at the Venezuelan army base. |
Organisation
| Organisation: | The militia is commanded by Carlos Augusto Leal Tellería, a Major General of the army. It reports directly to the president, the Defense Minister and the Operational Strategic Command and serves as an autonomous, auxiliary force to the Armed Forces’ service branches. It is divided into the National Reserve Service, the Territorial Guard Component (volunteers) and the People’s Navy Branch (Wikipedia). |
Reference(s) for Meta-Analysis
Evidence
- Examine the evidence for this coding.