Carlos Román Delgado Chalbaud Gómez (20 January 1909 – 13 November 1950) was a Venezuelan career military officer. He was the president of Venezuela from 1948 to 1950 as leader of a

military junta A military junta () is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the national and local junta organized by the Spanish resistance to Napoleon's invasion of Spain in ...

. In 1945, he was one of the high-ranking officers who brought to power the Democratic Action party by a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

. In 1948, as a Minister of Defense, he led another

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

and lingered as the President until his assassination in Caracas.

Early life

Delgado Chalbaud was the son of Román Delgado Chalbaud (grandson of a French immigrant and great-grandson of Andalusian colonist) and Luisa Elena Gómez Velutini (of Corsican descent). He was known as Carlos Delgado Chalbaud because he used the last name of his father Román Delgado Chalbaud as a tribute to his memory. When he was 20, he approached the cruiser ' in the port of Danzig (

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

). It landed on the coasts of Cumaná on 11 August 1929, with the purpose to overthrow the strongman Juan Vicente Gomez. In this failed operation his father Román commandant of the expeditionary was killed, leading Carlos to return to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. Delgado Chalbaud spent most of his life in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, where he studied engineering and later attended the

Saint-Cyr military academy Saint-Cyr refers to the popular child-saint Saint Quiricus (Cyriacus), whose following was strong in France because relics were brought back from Antioch by the 4th-century Bishop Saint Amator of Auxerre. Saint-Cyr may refer to: Places Franc ...

. He returned to Venezuela in 1939 and was promptly commissioned in the Venezuelan army by president General Eleazar Lopez Contreras with the rank of captain.

Career

As one of the brightest officials of the Armed Forces associated with the group that overthrew Isaías Medina Angarita in 1945, Carlos was a member of the Government Revolutionary Junta that replaced Medina. He was Minister of Defense during the presidencies of

Rómulo Betancourt Rómulo Ernesto Betancourt Bello (22 February 1908 – 28 September 1981; ), known as "The Father of Venezuelan Democracy", was the president of Venezuela, serving from 1945 to 1948 and again from 1959 to 1964, as well as leader of Acción De ...

and

Rómulo Gallegos Rómulo Ángel del Monte Carmelo Gallegos Freire (2 August 1884 – 5 April 1969) was a Venezuelan novelist and politician. For a period of nine months during 1948, he governed as the first freely elected president in Venezuela's history. He was ...

. In 1948, Chalbaud was among those who overthrew that government of president Gallegos, and was a member of the Military Junta of Government along with

Marcos Pérez Jiménez Marcos Evangelista Pérez Jiménez (25 April 1914 – 20 September 2001) was a Venezuelan military and general officer of the Army of Venezuela and the dictator of Venezuela from 1950 to 1958, ruling as member of the military junta from 19 ...

and Luis Llovera Páez, who was the titular head of the three-person junta.

Death

Chalbaud was kidnapped and murdered on 13 November 1950, by a group led by Rafael Simón Urbina and his nephew Domingo Urbina. The kidnapping took place in Caracas between the neighborhood of Country Club and Chapellin, and his murder took place in the semi-abandoned Las Mercedes neighborhood. His murder seems to be the unintended outcome of a failed kidnapping led by Simón Urbina, who looked to overthrow the Chalbaud presidency. Some believe Urbina despised Delgado Chalbaud, while others argue they were close until a falling out over politics. The day after the capture and imprisonment of Urbina, he was assassinated by orders of the Direction of National Security, efficiently securing Pérez Jiménez's position as the strongman in Venezuela for the next several years.

Personal life

Chalbaud was married to Lucía Devine, who served as

First Lady of Venezuela First Lady of Venezuela (Spanish: ''Primera Dama de Venezuela'') is the unofficial title traditionally held by the wife of the president of Venezuela. The current office of the first lady is disputed. List of first ladies Non-spouse first ladi ...

from 1948 to 1950. Cerro Carlos Delgado Chalbaud (1047m), a mountain in Venezuela's Amazonas estate where the headwaters of the

Orinoco River The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3 percent of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia. It is the fourth largest river in the wor ...

are located, is named after him. File:Lucía Devine.jpg, Lucía Devine

References

External links