The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, announced this Monday changes in the Higher General Staff of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB), reminding them that the mission “continues” to be to guarantee independence, security and peace in the country.
Maduro has ratified Vladimir Padrino as Minister of Defense and Domingo Antonio Hernández as head of the Strategic Operational Command. In addition, he has appointed Johan Hernández as commander of the Army, Admiral Ashraf Suleimán as head of the Navy, and Lenín Ramírez as head of the Air Force. He has also appointed other positions such as the National Guard (Elío Estrada) or Intelligence (Alexis Rodríguez).
The president has thanked “those who fulfilled their work during all this time in the face of the important responsibilities that they carried out impeccably” and has “predicted success for those who are called to serve.”
“We have a united, consolidated, robust FANB, and above all with a clear vision (…) I told them clearly, I pointed out the direction as constitutional commander-in-chief and that is what irritates the fascists, but here is the commander of the people and the worker,” he declared. In this sense, he assured that the Venezuelan Armed Forces are “anti-imperialist, anti-surname, anti-colonialist and totally popular.”
