Venezuelan Embassy marks 200th anniversary of Carabobo Campaign

KUALA LUMPUR, June 24 --  The Venezuelan Embassy in Malaysia on Thursday celebrated the 200th anniversary of the Carabobo Campaign - a historic date that sealed independence of Venezuela in 1811.

The celebration was marked with the 7th Simón Bolívar Public Lecture, organised virtually in collaboration with the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (IKMAS), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).

The embassy’s Charge d’Affaires Dr. Morella Barreto Lopez in her speech titled “Five Reasons to Celebrate Carabobo”, had highlighted the significance of the Carabobo battle, the embassy said in a statement.

According to Barreto-Lopez, June 24 was significant to Venezuelans worldwide as it was the second founding day of Venezuela.

“  The first was Declaration of Independence on April 19, 1810. The second reason to celebrate this event is the battle itself sealed Venezuelan Independence on June 24th, 1821.

“The third reason is the unity of the nation. Carabobo became the confluence of the accumulated historical libertarian and insurgent forces,” she added. 

Borreto-Lopez added that the final two reasons showed that Carabobo is the cornerstone for the consolidation of the Republic of Colombia (Bolívar's) while it made possible the advance of the revolution to the south of the continent.

“Carabobo is the sign of our American union, of the liberation of the South,” she added.

Also in the virtual public lecture were Director of IKMAS-UKM Dr. Sufian Jusoh and Head of Centre for Latin American Studies (iKAL), IKMAS-UKM, Dr. Andrew Kam Jia Yi.

At the event, they had also launched a book “Simón Bolívar Public Lecture Series” which was a compilation of lectures delivered between 2013 and 2018 by renowned Venezuelan intellectuals.

 Venezuelan ambassadors from Indonesia and Singapore had also participated in the virtual event. 

-- BERNAMA