208 years since the start of the Los Cayos Expedition: Bolivar's strategy to liberate Venezuela

Published at: 31/03/2024 10:48 AM

On March 31, 1816, Simon Bolivar left the port of Los Cayos de San Luis (Haiti), commanding an expedition of Venezuelan and Grenadian patriots, in order to liberate Venezuela from Spanish forces.

Simon Bolivar , had arrived in the San Luis Keys from Jamaica at the end of 1815 and moved to the capital, Port-au-Prince, where in early January 1816 he was able to meet with General Alexandre Petión, president of Haiti.

Bolivar, in a letter to Admiral Luis Brión, says that in the first interview with the Haitian president, he could only speak to him “in general terms”. The interviews were repeated; Bolívar and Petión reached a frank friendship that resulted in the Haitian president's support for the patriot cause.

The Liberator organized a small fleet of seven schooners: Bolívar, General Mariño, General Piar, Constitución, Brión, Félix and Conejo, as well as La Fortune, the schooner of his friend Robert Sutherland. The expedition included commanders Manuel Piar, Santiago Mariño, Gregor MacGregor, Francisco Antonio Zea, Pedro María Freites, Bartolomé Salom, Pedro León Torres, Carlos Soublette, Pedro Briceño Méndez, Manuel Valdés, Diego Ibarra, Juan Bautista Bideau, Carlos Chamberlain, Juan Baillío, Carlos Eloy Demarquet, Renato Beluche, Henry Ducoudray-Holstein, and others. It also included 1,000 patriotic soldiers and 1,000 Haitians.

The expedition sailed from the port of Los Cayos de San Luis, arriving at Margarita Island on May 3.

The day before, he encountered realistic forces around the Los Frailes Archipelago, which he would defeat in what would become known as the Naval Battle of Los Frailes.

The patriots would capture two realistic ships, the Intrepid Brigantine and the schooner Rita. Three days later, on May 6, Margarita was designated as the provisional seat of the Venezuelan Government and Bolívar was proclaimed Supreme Head of the Third Republic and its Armies.

Mazo News Team