General-in-Chief Jacinto Pérez Arcay, Venezuela’s longest-serving active military officer, dies

(CNN Spanish) – Jacinto Pérez Arcay, general in chief of the Venezuelan Armed Forces and one of the advisers and teachers of Nicolás Maduro and the late Hugo Chávez, died this Monday at the age of 86, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez reported on his Twitter account.

“Bastion of the values ​​and principles of Simón Bolívar. It was a school for all: of living history and sovereignty! We extend our condolences to his relatives and to our honorable FANB! Fly high, general, “he wrote on his Twitter account.

According to the Ministry of Popular Power for Communication and Information, Pérez Arcay graduated from the Military Academy of Venezuela in 1956 and in 2007 he was reincorporated to active service in the National Armed Forces, of which he was appointed as honorary chief of the General Staff of the Commander in Chief in July 2019. He was the oldest active military man.

Pérez Arcay was one of the advisers and teachers of the late Hugo Chávez and, in recent years, of the questioned President Nicolás Maduro. The latter lamented his death, also through a tweet: “What pain and sadness my Bolivarian heart feels for the sensitive physical departure of G / J Jacinto Pérez Arcay. Distinguished soldier of the homeland, teacher of Commander Chávez and of several generations military. My hug to their families and the FANB. Until victory always! “.

In addition, Pérez Arcay graduated with the highest honors in History and Geography from the Andrés Bello Catholic University. In his role as a historian, he wrote books on the Federal War, among other topics.