Cuartel San Carlos

NIKON D80, NIKON 18-55@50, ISO 100/ f/5,6 3 Exposures

This is one of a series of many others images from this place, here a little history:

 

The San Carlos Fort is a colonial military building in Caracas, Venezuela now a National Historic Landmark, is located on the corner of Dos Pilitas to Cuartel San Carlos  in the parish of the Libertador Municipality Altagracia.

Its construction was ordered by the then Captain General and Governor of the Province of Venezuela Don Luis de Unzagay Amenzaga in 1787 to avoid British invasions of the city and that this area was the natural gateway to Caracas from the Caribbean Sea, the construction is completed in 1792 including several military areas for education, shelter, weapons, housing, jails, common areas and a large undeveloped land around the barracks by a royal decree that prevented construction near the area. The structure is rectangular with walls 100 meters long on each side with guard posts at each corner, has two levels and features.

The Caracas earthquake of 1812 severely weakened the structure and remained unoccupied until 1839 when President Carlos Soublette decide to restore the barracks. On October 6, 1986 is National Historic Monument. The fort was also used as military and political prison until 1994, during the presence of guerrillas in Venezuela in the sixties was one of the main prisons for leftists, in February 1967 came the "Escape from San Carlos headquarters" where manage to escape from prison by the then guerrilla Teodoro Petkoff, Pompeyo Marquez and Guillermo Garcia Ponce.

In the early years of the 70's, many fighters were locked Red Flag Party, Armed Forces of National Liberation and the group Ground Zero to pay for convictions for crimes committed during the period of armed struggle.

On January 18, 1975, ran the second flight of the headquarters by 23 urban guerrilla groups listed above, in what became known as Operation "Jesus Marquez Finol." The headquarters would be a political prison of the last members of Red Flag until 1988 when he was pardoned Gabriel Puerta Aponte, its top leader at the time. In 1992 he was again intended to protect political prison Lt. Col. Hugo Chávez Frías until 1994 that the military and civilian detainees were transferred or pardoned and the headquarters was never worn.

During the government of Hugo Chavez rallied Barracks areas destined to become museum, which is currently being built. This building runs an association of former political prisoners who were the FLN-FALN, but only as a representative body.