Interim government of Ramón J. Velásquez

After the Supreme Court requested Congress to impeach President Carlos Andrés Pérez,^[1] the then-president of Congress, Octavio Lepage, was appointed interim president. Lepage served for fifteen days, during which disagreements within Congress^[5] led to the appointment of Ramón J. Velásquez, a senator from the Democratic Action (AD) party representing the state of Táchira.

On June 4, 1993, Congress elected Velásquez, aged 76,^[6] as constitutional president. The traditional parties Democratic Action and Copei decided to support Velásquez, though they did not contribute their own members to the ministerial cabinet, which was instead composed of independent figures.^[1]

Velásquez's central policy was a national decentralization project,^[1] for which he created the Intergovernmental Fund for Decentralization.^[6] In 1993, he established the Ministry of State for Decentralization.^[2]

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Velásquez requested Congress to grant him an Enabling act,^[6] which was approved on August 23, 1993, allowing him to issue decree-laws to address the complex economic and political situation.^[1]

In October 1993, Velásquez's government was embroiled in the narco-pardon scandal [es], in which the interim president pardoned imprisoned drug trafficker Larry Tovar Acuña [es], a representative of the Medellín Cartel in Venezuela.^[7][8]

Velásquez later testified before the court that he had signed the document without reading it and was exonerated in 1995 in connection with the matter. His private secretary, María Auxiliadora Jara de Tarazona, was found guilty. The court handling the case stated: "It has been demonstrated that Jara used cunning to exploit the president's good faith, who granted the pardon improperly substantiated, and the error and deceit exclude any corrupt pact."

Jara was sentenced to three years in prison, and an extradition order was issued for Larry Tovar Acuña, who had fled to Colombia.^[8]

Defense Minister Radamés Muñoz León, along with military and civilian collaborators, traveled to Washington, D.C., to seek approval from the U.S. State Department and Department of Defense to overthrow Velásquez's transitional government, halt elections, and install an authoritarian regime.^[9] Velásquez attempted to replace Muñoz and the military leadership for most of his presidency, succeeding only after the election of Rafael Caldera.^[4]

Human Rights Watch reported allegations of links between police, military members, and drug trafficking, as well as suspicions that drug money was funding the 1993 presidential campaign.^[10] In August 1993, retired National Guard General Ramón Guillén Dávila and other officers, including National Guard General Orlando Hernández Villegas, head of the anti-drug unit, were arrested.^[10]

Velásquez's economic measures included implementing a value-added tax (IVA), restructuring income tax, and enacting the Business Assets Tax Law^[6] and the Consumer Protection Law, which delegated price control responsibilities to governors and mayors.^[7]

After Banco Latino, one of Venezuela's largest banks, became insolvent, Velásquez's government intervened, appointing a new board.^[11] This action triggered panic and a massive withdrawal of funds from the banking sector.^[11] The Ministry of Defense, which had entrusted most of its funds to Banco Latino, faced difficulties in paying its employees' salaries.^[11]

In November 1993, Velásquez suspended the privatization program initiated by the previous administration, freezing the sale of Aeropostal, a racetrack, two electric companies, a hotel, and a sugar mill.^[3]

The 1993 blackout was a widespread power outage caused by an accident at the Guri Dam. The blackout left three-quarters of Venezuela without electricity, affecting all major cities in the country.^[12]

In 1989, Sergio Rodríguez Yance, an activist with the NGO PROVEA, was detained for allegedly instigating the Caracazo protests. He was visited by an Amnesty International commission while in detention and later released.^[13][14] On September 23, 1993, Rodríguez Yance participated in a student march that turned violent. He died from a pellet wound during the protest, sparking demonstrations and condemnation from organizations like Amnesty International.^[13][14]

The 1993 Las Tejerías Tragedy [es] was an explosion and subsequent fire on September 28, 1993, at kilometer 57 of the Autopista Regional del Centro near Las Tejerías, Aragua, Venezuela. The explosion was caused by the accidental piercing of an underground gas pipeline during the installation of a new fiber-optic network. Official reports confirmed 42 deaths, 14 injuries, and significant damage to vehicles, with estimated damages of 73.7 million bolívars.^[15]

Velásquez's foreign policy emphasized Latin American integration, participating in meetings of the Andean Community and the Group of Three (G-3), as well as agreements between Caribbean nations (Caricom) and the G-3.^[1]