2010: The remains of the Liberator were exhumed to determine the causes of his death

On July 16, 2010, the remains of the Liberator Simon Bolivar were exhumed in order to gather scientific details about the cause of his death, physical characteristics and others.

“It's about dignifying the remains, nothing more or nothing less than the Father of the Fatherland, of the Father of the Fatherland, his heroic remains, his last shirt, his campaign boots, the look of the skull, because around here the poet says, he sees, and someday too, says Andrés Eloy, the poet, someday there will also be an opportunity to transfer those remains that we no longer have any fear of being opened because desecration is a profane intention and that would be an intention to glorify national worship, this is what we are doing now, glorifying Bolívar , with sacred love, eh,” said Commander Chávez.

The preliminary report of the exhumation, read by Commander Chávez, was obtained:

A black cloak from Damascus that wrapped the skeleton, two lead boxes welded to the urn, which contained dust, remains from the body, clothing, footwear, and a lead envelope containing an act drawn up by the commission responsible for the transfer of the remains from Santa Marta in 1842, signed by Dr. José María Vargas and members of the commission.

The skeleton assembled with lead and silver wires, covered with preservative varnish, as worked by Dr. José María Vargas in 1843.

The skull sawed horizontally; the ribs on both sides cut obliquely enough to examine the chest; the ring fingers and the second phalanx of all the other fingers of the hands, except that of the thumbs, reconstructed with molding wax since they were not found by Dr. Vargas.

Some metatarsal bones and all of the toes of both feet reconstructed with molding wax

The denture is almost complete with the absence of the last chordal tooth on the left of the upper jaw, with which Dr. José María Vargas explains that it was seen next to the remains, but that in 1843 it was no longer found with them.

All joints or adaptations of carpal, metacarpal and tarsal bones reconstructed with molding wax.

After verifying the existence of all of the above, the head of state continued reading, the scientists accredited by the presidential commission proceeded to:

Measure and describe the bones of the skeleton found. Scan some bones with the idea of later identifying data such as size and thickness.

Remove four dental samples, two front, one canine and one premolar, of which two were transferred to the Public Ministry, one to the Ivic and one to the Idea, laboratories where material was extracted from them to obtain DNA. In addition, two upper teeth were removed from the skull while it underwent a tomography in order to ensure its possible use for future research and future DNA collection. The studies carried out in the laboratories of the Public Ministry, one at the IVIC and one at the IDEA, will make it easier to identify the DNA pattern of the remains that can be compared with the DNA of other family members, such as María Antonia Bolívar, whose remains are currently in the Cathedral of Caracas and will be submitted for study in the month of August.

The following bone tissue samples were taken:

Two wedges of the right humeral head, part of the skull that was not scanned or radiographed, to evaluate DNA. A sample of the fifth bustal arch on the left side (a rib) to investigate a possible tuberculosis infection using two different technologies.

A fragment of a phalanx of the left hand for DNA.

A sample of the left hip of the anterior side where a lesion was observed, possibly due to the sequelae of tuberculosis. This sample will be evaluated by pathologists.

A sample taken from the fourth dorsal vertebra, which also appeared to have an injury, possibly due to tuberculosis, for appropriate studies

A wedge fragment from the same left coxal as the anterior side. All bone and dental pieces were restored to the skeleton under the same conditions found.

A CT scan of the skull was done. This study will allow, with the application of specialized software, to recreate a computerized and three-dimensional image of the Liberator's face. The recreation of the image of Bolívar's face can later be compared with the well-known iconography of the Father of the Fatherland.

Finally, the perfectly assembled, strengthened skeleton was placed in a metra-carat urn, which was vacuum-sealed and bolted with gold screws from Guiana. This urn was placed in another one made of plain cedar wood with the National Shield made of gold embedded in the lid of the urn.

From there, anthropological, anatomopathological, radiological, dental, medical-forensic and genetic studies were performed using the most advanced techniques and procedures for our time.

On July 25, 2011, it was verified that the remains correspond to a 47-year-old male, aged 1.65, of mixed race with Caucasoid priority; a thin and strong person; with wavy and fine hair, according to one of the capillaries taken from the urn and with remains in the sacral bone area that determine that he was a rider.

It was not determined if he was killed or if he died of tuberculosis, but if they found a high arsenic content due to the medical treatment given to the Liberator during his illness.

Currently, the urn where the remains of the patriotic father now rest has a humidity meter to measure the internal and external temperature from time to time.

Mazo News Team