LATIN AMERICA Some Bolivarian Order of Battle OE Watch Commentary: The accompanying article from a leading Argentina-based news site outlines a handful of armed organizations that give the Venezuelan regime some of its coercive capacity. The article highlights the Colectivos (hybrid motorcycle gang/strike units), GNB (Bolivarian National Guard), PNB (Bolivarian National Police), Sebin (Bolivarian Intelligence Service), the FAES (Bolivarian National Police Special Action Force), and the Military Intelligence Counterintelligence General Directorate (DGCIM).

The article notes the presence of ELN (National Liberation Army) and FARC (the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) remnants operating in Venezuela’s vast, mostly unpopulated rural areas. The authors do not suggest these organizations are part of the Bolivarian apparatus proper, but imply their impunity. The article also does not mention any Cuban organizations, and more notably, does not mention the regular units of the Bolivarian Armed Forces. (For a discussion on impunity as a strategic concept, see Dr. Geoff Demarest, Winning Irregular War, p33.) End OE Watch Commentary (Demarest) “…today, Cuban envoys are present in every Venezuelan state apparatus.”

Source: Editors, “Colectivos, GNB, PNB, Sebin o FAES: quiénes son y cómo actúan las temibles fuerzas represivas del régimen de Maduro (Colectivos, GNB, PNB, Sebin or FAES: who they are and how the fearsome repressive forces of the Maduro regime operate),” Infobae, 11 June 2019. https://www.infobae.com/america/venezuela/2019/06/11/colectivos-gnb-pnb-sebin-o-faes-quienes-son-y-como-actuan-las- temibles-fuerzas-represivas-del-regimen-de-maduro/ “Colectivos… The colectivos are the guardians of Chavista ideology. These paramilitary groups, in fact, are considered the ‘armed defense of the Bolivarian Revolution’ and it is calculated that there are around 100,000 [members]… The Bolivarian National Guard and the Bolivarian National Police… In 2017, it is estimated that [the National Guard has 70,000 enlisted members…] The PNB [Bolivarian National Police], for its part, is estimated to have had [in 2017] about 26,000 officers…in June of this year, Nicolás Maduro said he wanted to add 20,000 more to the ranks of the GNB and the PNB… The FAES (Bolivarian National Police Special Action Force)… It [the FAES] is the most feared police squad in Venezuela…those agents are called out as the authors of the majority of (political) murders… They were created 14 July, 2017… The Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN)… Regarding its role, the SEBIN is most comparable to the North American FBI since its original mission was to protect the territorial national security, but, nevertheless, Hugo Chávez twisted its purpose and today it is known for domestic surveillance…Although the Cuban- Venezuelan relationship dates back decades…today, Cuban envoys are present in every Venezuelan state apparatus… The Military Intelligence Counterintelligence General Directorate (DGCIM)… Although the Venezuelan Army has had an intelligence unit since 1957, since 2001 it is dedicated itself to counterintelligence. Since then, it investigates the armed forces themselves and their officers….”

Bolivarian National Police Special Action Force (FAES). Source: Catia TVe via Wikimedia, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fuerzas_de_Acciones_Especiales_(FAES).png, CC BY 3.0

OE Watch | July 2019 65