# Adán Chávez

Adán Chávez Frías (born April 11, 1953) is a Venezuelan politician who was Governor of Barinas state from 2008 to 2016. Previously he was Ambassador to Cuba and then Minister of Education from 2007 to 2008.

## Guerrilla affiliations

Adán studied at the University of the Andes, in Mérida where he was involved with pro-guerrilla groups prior to the election of his brother Hugo into the presidency. Through Adán, Hugo met with guerrilla fighters Douglas Bravo and William Izarra.

## Political career

After Hugo was elected as president, he appointed Adán as Ambassador to Cuba. In August 2006, Adán became Presidential Secretary, replacing Delcy Rodríguez, who reportedly disagreed with Hugo Chávez during his international tour. The Charlotte Observer reported that the author of several books on Chávez, Alberto Garrido, argued: "A much more hard-line phase [of Chávez rule] is beginning and Chávez needs a reliable and radical team around him." In January 2007, Hugo appointed Adán as Minister of Education. In 2008, he was elected as Governor of Barinas as the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) candidate, replacing his father Hugo de los Reyes Chávez.
On March 7, 2019, he was appointed Venezuelan ambassador to Cuba by President Nicolás Maduro and since February 14, 2023, he has been the Rector (academia) of the Universidad Nacional Experimental de los Llanos Ezequiel Zamora.
Chávez has been critical of the United States government, stating to PSUV members in 2018 that "we have an enemy, the American empire is our fundamental enemy, nobody can get lost in the forest of other considerations".

## Sanctions
### United States

On 9 August 2017, the United States Department of the Treasury placed sanctions on Chávez for his position in the Presidential Commission in the 2017 Constituent Assembly of Venezuela.

### Canada

On 3 November 2017, the Government of Canada sanctioned Chávez as being someone who participated in "significant acts of corruption or who have been involved in serious violations of human rights".

### Panama

On 29 March 2018, Chávez was sanctioned by the Panamanian government for his alleged involvement with "money laundering, financing of terrorism and financing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction".

## Personal life

He is the eldest brother of Hugo Chávez (1954–2013), who was President of Venezuela from 1999 to 2013, the mayor of Sabaneta, Barinas, Anibal José Chávez Frías (1956–2016), jus successor in the gubernatorial position, Argenis Chávez (born 1958), who served for one term from 2016 to 2021 and three other brothers: Narciso (1955), Enzo (1959-1960) and Adelis (1961).
At a young age, his parents entrusted his upbringing and that of his brother Hugo to his paternal grandmother, Rosa Inés Chávez (1913-1982). He is married to Carmen Herenia Hernández Puente, born on February 25, 1954 in Mérida (state) with whom he has four children: Enzo, born on June 22, 1975. Elena, born on December 31, 1977. Ernesto, born on 16 February 1982 and Elyana, born on November 23, 1985. He also has nine grandchildren. Chávez is the great-grandson of the Venezuelan leader Pedro Pérez Delgado, known as Maisanta, leader of the anti-Gomecista rebellion, who in 1898 ended the life of former president Joaquín Crespo.