Juan Vicente Gómez

Juan Vicente Gómez Chacón (24 July 1857 – 17 December 1935) was a Venezuelan military general, politician and de facto ruler of Venezuela from 1908 until his death in 1935. He only officially served as president on three occasions during this time, ruling as an unelected military strongman behind puppet governments in between.

Important public works were carried out during his dictatorship as the famous Transandean Highway a route of 1,539 km that starts from Las Adjuntas station (near Caracas Metro Station) and ends at the main land customs office in San Antonio del Táchira. This development came at the expense of civil liberties. He founded the country's first airline, Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela and the Venezuelan Air Force. He commissioned the construction of Venezuela's first airports: Maracaibo International Airport "Grano de Oro", La Fría, Encontrados, Sucre Base (now Florencio Gomez National Airport in Maracay, Aragua), Aragua Meteorological Air Base (the cradle and birthplace of the airport). Venezuelan Aviation, later converted into Aviation Museum, Porlamar (now Municipal Police Headquarters, replaced by Santiago Mariño Caribbean International Airport), Leonardo Chirinos International Airport in Coro, Juan Vicente Gómez International Airport and Mérida's Alberto Carnevalli Airport.

Likewise, bridges, customs buildings (such as the main customs office in San Antonio del Táchira), the first passenger terminal of the intercity bus line were built, the first intercity bus line was called the Venezuelan Airbus or the Venezuelan Airmail Bus. The Venezuelan military was organized on a modern basis.

His dictatorship always tried to maintain a constitutional and democratic façade, employing short-term puppet presidents like Victorino Márquez Bustillos and Juan Bautista Pérez and allowing them to rule directly or indirectly through successive constitutional amendments.