Venezuela

Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country in northern South America. The official language is Spanish, and the capital city is Caracas. 

Other languages spoken in Venezuela include Carib, Guahibo, Warao, Wayuu, Pemon, and Piaroa.

In January 2026, the U.S. military took the president of Venezuela out of the country;  He gave answers in a U.S. court (January 5).

Delcy Rodríguez is in power; She is interim president (or acting president).https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cwy1x9vwn3dt. Retrieved 2026-01-05https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/venezuelas-supreme-court-orders-delcy-rodriguez-become-interim-president-2026-01-04/. "Venezuela's Supreme Court orders Delcy Rodriguez become interim president"

 Geography 
The geography includes the islands in the Caribbean Sea, coastal areas, highlands, and parts of the Andes Mountains. Angel Falls is the world's tallest waterfall. It is in the Bolivar state.

 Economy 
Venezuela's economy is based on oil, cotton, cocoa, sugar, coffee, and tobacco.

Venezuela has one of the largest oil supplies in the world, and it produces a large amount of oil. It also has a very large supply of fossil fuels, gasoline, and minerals.

The government's main source of income in foreign currencies, has been coming "for a while" (as of 2026's first quarter), from export of oil.https://www.vg.no/nyheter/i/j0dq30/falske-signaler-slik-smuglet-de-olje-ut-av-venezuela. Retrieved 2026-01-06

There are shortages in the country; About "80% of [the people or] residents ... live in poverty", according to estimates (2025).https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-economic-crisis-maduro-food-families-hungry-3e980da7bca693cc3877df0d7647a837. Retrieved 2026-01-05

There are economic sanctions against Venezuela [as of 2026's first quarter]; The sanctions are coming from the United States [and some other countries].https://edition.cnn.com/2025/11/11/americas/venezuela-inflation-us-tension-intl-latam#:~:text=The%20Venezuelan%20government%20prohibits%20publishing,sanctions%20for%20almost%20a%20decade. Retrieved 2025-12-11https://www.nrk.no/urix/xl/hva-gikk-galt-med-venezuela_-1.17683334. Retrieved 2025-12-11 The sanctions are costing Venezuela, billions of euro, every year.https://thetricontinental.org/newsletterissue/us-sanctions-venezuela-chile/#:~:text=The%20FACTS%20graphic%20above%20shows,by%20US%20President%20Donald%20Trump. Retrieved 2025-12-11

In regard to inflation: It is between "20% and 30% a month", according to an estimate quoted (November 2025) by a media outlet; The estimate is for the capital city.

In regard to (relatives sending money from abroad, or) remittances: About 8 million Venezuelans have moved to other countries, according to media (in 2026);https://www.nrk.no/urix/hvem-styrer-i-venezuela_-dette-er-kvinnen-som-trump-plasserte-i-sjefsstolen-1.17713830. Retrieved 2026-01-06 Many of those Venezuelans send money to relatives (back home).

 History 
Ancient Venezuelans came from the east, west, south, and north. Christopher Columbus was the first European to enter Venezuela, but there had been indigenous people living there for a long time. 

 European colonialism 
Also see: Colonialism and Atlantic slave trade

When white Europeans (like the British, Spanish, and French colonial empires) conquered territory in the Americas, they took their black African slaves to America to work. The Spanish Empire conquered Venezuela and brought in slaves from Africa. 

At this time, black people had no rights; they just worked for food. Because of the colonial period, Venezuela's population today is very racially mixed. 

The Spanish taught Roman Catholicism, and many native people converted. Today, almost all Venezuelans (96%) are Catholics; just 2% are Protestant.

For a long time, society was headed by white creoles: people in Venezuela who were descended from Spaniards, but considered Venezuela home. Other Venezuelans did not like that, and they started thinking about independence. 

 After independence (1823) 
On July 24, 1823 Venezuela won its independence, led by Simón Bolívar.

Venezuela's modern history was shaped by a number of people, including President Romulo Betancourt, who replaced a military dictatorship with a democracy. 

By the 1970s, Venezuela had become rich from oil revenue, but it had problems in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1999 Hugo Chávez became president and tried to remake Venezuela into a socialist state. While popular at first, the economic changes made by Chavez and the next president, Nicolás Maduro, caused a massive economic depression in the mid-2010s. The current president is disputed.

The Crisis in Venezuela(PDF file) https://cdn.sida.se/app/uploads/2025/10/27162956/Venezuela-HCA-2025.pdf. Retrieved 2025-12-11 started in 2010 (and has been ongoing for .)

The 2026 United States strikes in Venezuela, happened; An invasion lasted for two hours and twenty minutes (January 3).https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdred61epg4o. Retrieved 2026-01-05 That U.S. force left Venezuela, later that day.

Politics
The government has interior minister, foreign minister and defense minister; The oil minister's post (or job) is held by the vice president (as of 2026's first quarter).https://politiken.dk/internationalt/art10504711/USA-fordobler-dus%C3%B8r-for-anholdelse-af-Venezuelas-pr%C3%A6sident. Retrieved 2026-01-05https://politiken.dk/internationalt/art10504711/USA-fordobler-dus%C3%B8r-for-anholdelse-af-Venezuelas-pr%C3%A6sident.  Retrieved 2026-01-05https://politiken.dk/internationalt/art10679199/Venezuelas-regering-er-r%C3%A5dvild.  Retrieved 2026-01-05https://www.reuters.com/world/us/venezuelas-maduro-custody-trump-says-us-will-run-country-2026-01-04/. Retrieved 2026-01-05

On January 5, 2026, the Rodríguez cabinet (or government) held its first official meeting.https://www.nrk.no/urix/hvem-styrer-i-venezuela_-dette-er-kvinnen-som-trump-plasserte-i-sjefsstolen-1.17713830. Retrieved 2026-01-06

 Demographics 
The population of Venezuela is about 28,000,000 people.27,951,000 according to "República Bolivariana de Venezuela.". www.imf.org. Retrieved 2 January 2020. The ethnicities of the population are:
 65%: Multiracial.
 20%: European.
 10%: African.
 5%: Amerindian.

 Other information 
 Foreign relations 
United States–Venezuela relations. The U.S. secretary-of-state and Venezuela's acting president talked [on the phone], on January 3, 2026.https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/venezuela-explosions-caracas-intl-hnk-01-03-26?post-id=cmjykgy3l00003b61f10allg2. Retrieved 2026-01-05 Earlier that day, the U.S. military did an invasion, that ended the same day. Earlier (2025), the U.S. started attacks from the air, against what was thought to be drug boats. The attacks were part of a military buildup in the Caribbean Sea. Earlier that year, the US government said that gangs such as  Cartel of the Suns, and Tren de Aragua, are terrorist organizations. Earlier (2019), the U.S.  took away its diplomats from the U.S. embassy in Caracas.https://ve.usembassy.gov/venezuela-travel-advisory/#:~:text=Country%20Summary%3A%20In%20March%202019,remain%20suspended%20until%20further%20notice. Retrieved 2025-12-07 Earlier that year, Venezuela's president said that the Venezuelan embassy "and all consulates in the U.S. would be closed", according to media.https://www.bal.com/immigration-news/venezuelan-consular-services-unavailable-in-us/#:~:text=Background:%20Venezuelan%20President%20Nicholas%20Maduro,in%20services%20and%20plan%20accordingly. Retrieved 2025-12-07

Gallery

 Related pages 
List of ongoing armed conflicts

References


Category:Spanish-speaking countries
Category:Current dictatorships
Category:1845 establishments
Category:1840s establishments in South America