Venezuela is bounded to the north by the Caribbean, to the east by Guyana and the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by Brazil, and to the west and southwest by Colombia. President Hugo Chavez-Frias since 1999. Gained independence from Spain in 1830. Spanish is the official language. English, French, German and Portuguese are also spoken by some sections of the community.
Services are available from public telegraph offices.
There is an efficient mail service from Venezuela to the USA and Europe. Airmail to Europe takes three to seven days. Internal mail can sometimes take longer. Surface mail to Europe takes at least one month. The English-language daily newspaper is The Daily Journal , published in Caracas.