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ePaper created 2015-11-10, 17:27:36 | version 1.33.00
REDACTED Page 74 of 190 used this plan to create and promote existing of social organisations300 and militarised some of these organizations with the purpose of defending the Bolivarian Revolution, because, according to him the “revolution is peaceful but armed.”301 d)The Creation of Two Militarized Militia Groups since 1999 (the Bolivarian National Militia and the Pro Government Armed Paramilitaries) (i)The Bolivarian National Militia Since the failed coup of April 2002, Chávez driven by his distrust of the military corps, integrated a civilian reserve to it in order to complement the Armed Forces. Chávez originally created “an informal reserve army of popular militias that is not subordinate to the regular armed forces but is under the president’s direct command”302 by special decree303 in 2005. This informal reserved was given a formal structure in 2009 with a presence throughout the country of about 667,000 men and 120,000 women at different levels of training.304 However, from an operational perspective the Bolivarian National Militia is directly subordinated to the President as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces and are a part of the Venezuelan National Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas Nacionales Bolivariana) having as main function to “complement the work of the armed forces in the defence of the national and the military regions.”305 COMERCIO. (2014) Los Tupamaro, la fuerza de choque del chavismo. El Comercio Mundo. [Online] 12 February. Available from http://elcomercio.pe/mundo/latinoamerica/tupamaros-fuerza-choque- chavismo-noticia-1709177 [Accessed 7 September, 2015]; BBC (2012) Los "colectivos urbanos" de Caracas y los niños con armas. BBC Mundo. [Online] 31 January. Available from: http://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias/2012/01/120130_venezuela_colectivos_urbanos_23_enero_jp. shtml [Accessed 7 September, 2015] 300 Such as the comunas, UBCh (Battle Units Bolivar Chávez), consejos comunales, círculos bolivarianos (Bolivarian Circles) and the urban colectivos (some of them were created long before Chávez). 301 N24. (2010) Advierte que su revolución es “pacífica, pero está armada.” Noticias 24. [Online] 30 August. Available from: http://www.noticias24.com/actualidad/noticia/170186/Chavez-encabeza- caravana-en-apoyo-a-los-candidatos-a-la-an-del-psuv-en-el-23-de-enero/ [Accessed 28 August, 2015]; ORVEX. (2008) ¿Porqué la Revolución de Hugo Chávez es Pacífica y Armada? [Online Video] 13 November. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2nsMta5xbg [Accessed 28 August, 2015] 302 FLEISCHMANN, L. (2013) p.47 303 MANRIQUE, L.E.G (2007) The Armed Forces as a Political Party: Chávez’s New ‘Geometry of Power.’ Real Instituto Elcano. [Online] 3 December. Available from: http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/portal/web/rielcano_en/contenido?WCM_GLOBAL_CON TEXT=/elcano/elcano_in/zonas_in/ari117-2007#.VfPcH7QSNd0 [Accessed 12 September, 2015] 304 N24. (2009) Aprueban la Ley que constituye la milicia y llama “Bolivariana” a la FAN. Noticias 24. [Online] 6 October. Available from: http://www.noticias24.com/actualidad/noticia/96704/aprueban- la-ley-que-constituye-la-milicia-y-llama-bolivariana-a-la-fan/ [Accessed 28 August, 2015] 305 FLEISCHMANN, L. (2013) p.45