The Simon Bolivar Training Ship
Dubbed the “ambassador without borders”, the ship left Venezuela in February and visited the Dominican Republic, Canada, Cuba, Curazao, Panama, Mexico, and Colombia, then came back here earlier this month. It was its twenty-fourth training cruise for navel cadets, but brought a message of peace, union, independence and anti-imperialism.
The 175 men and women on board, apart from their technical training, met with various communities in each stop, and learnt about the histories of the different cities.
According to defence minister Henry Rangel , the ship was acquired by the state for the “noble labour of brining… Bolivarian ideology to the world… with these training trips we guarantee that our armed forces count on a high level of education”.
Navy officials from Uruguay, Brazil, and Peru accompanied the cadets in their training, as part of a scholarship and student cooperation program between South American countries.