Venezuela involvement in regime change

Venezuela involvement in regime change has entailed both overt and covert actions aimed at altering, replacing, or preserving foreign governments. During the Spanish American wars of independence, Venezuelan leader Simón Bolívar led expeditions to overthrow government loyal to the Spanish Empire. During the presidency of Hugo Chávez, his government made several, covert payments to regional allies.
19th century
New Granada (1819-1820)
During the Spanish American wars of independence, Venezuelan leader Simón Bolívar overthrew the Viceroyalty of New Grenada, which was led by Juan José de Sámano y Uribarri.
After the Captaincy General of Venezuela branched from the Viceroyalty of New Grenada in 1777, the captaincy soon found itself among the Venezuelan War of Independence and the Venezuelan Declaration of Independence was made in 1811.
After Bolívar led the Admirable Campaign in 1813 and establishing the Third Republic of Venezuela, the Spanish reconquest of New Granada occurred and the Viceroyalty of New Grenada was re-established in 1816. In 1819, Bolívar began his expedition to overthrow the Viceroyalty of New Grenada and led Venezuelan troops and British Legions into Spanish territory. Bolívar's motive was to conquer New Grenada and to join the territory with Venezuela to establish Gran Colombia.
Following the Battle of Boyacá, Viceroy Juan José de Sámano y Uribarri fled to Cartagena de Indias where he was not recognized. On 10 August 1819, Bolívar marched into Bogotá and months later during the Congress of Angostura, the State of Gran Colombia was declared on 17 December 1819.
20th century
Colombia (1899-1902)
During the Thousand Days' War, the Colombian Liberal Party lost contested elections with the Colombian Conservative Party. According to de La Pedraja, what "had happened so often in the past in many other countries, the losing party turned to foreign help as the only way to attain victory" and that "key foreign help came from Venezuela". crossed the border from Nicaragua and invaded Costa Rica. Venezuelan dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez provided financial support to the rebels and, reportedly, air support. The invasion ultimately failed. President Pérez Jiménez anticipated the invasion of Guyana in 1958, but was overthrown in the 1958 Venezuelan coup d'état prior to this. Five months after Guyana's independence from the United Kingdom, Venezuela moved to occupy Ankoko Island from Guyana in October 1966, with Venezuelan troops building military installations and an airstrip on the island. Venezuelan actions to acquire Guyanese territory intensified in 1968. The rebels were primarily ranch owners of European descent that were supported by Amerindians, who were mainly ranch employees. Following the controversial 1968 Guyanese general election, a rancher and candidate of the conservative United Force party, Valerie Hart, declared herself president of the "Republic of the Rupununi", claiming control of the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo region of Guyana. According to Odeen Ishmael, rebels were transported into Venezuela by aircraft on 24 December 1968, days after the Guyanese general election, Venezuela's geopolitical ambitions grew as oil profits increased with much of the country's foreign policy involving oil politics. Noam Chomsky described Chávez's oil subsidies to Caribbean and South American countries as "buying influence, undoubtedly" and called Venezuela's social programs in neighboring countries as "just another example of Venezuelan imperialism".
Argentina (2007)
Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez allegedly contributed to the election campaign of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner during the Argentine presidential elections of 2007 in an attempt to influence the election.
On 4 August 2007, Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson, a Venezuelan-US entrepreneur of close to President Chávez, arrived in Argentina on a private plane chartered from Royal Class by Argentine and Venezuelan state officials, carrying US$790,550 in cash. Present on the flight were various Venezuelan and Argentine officials. Antonini Wilson was successful as part of the Bolibourgeoisie during the Chávez administration. As investigations of Antonini Wilson began, he fled to the United States
While wearing a covert listening device Wilson was approached by two Venezuelan businessmen; Carlos Kauffmann and Franklin Durán, Moisés Maiónica a Venezuelan lawyer and José Canchica of Venezuela's spy agency, the . Maiónica said in a recording that money buying Antonini Wilson's silence could not be wired into the United States by PDVSA, so DISIP direct Henry Rangel Silva was using a "secret fund" to send a cash payment. The two testified that the $800,000 was sent from Venezuela through PDVSA to fund Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's campaign, with the plot being orchestrated by Venezuela's National Directorate of Intelligence and Prevention Services.<ref name=":03" />

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