Carmen Meléndez

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Meléndez and the second or maternal family name is Rivas.

Carmen Teresa Meléndez Rivas (born 3 November 1961) is a Venezuelan politician and Navy admiral. She was Minister of Interior and Justice from 25 October 2014 to 9 March 2015,^[1] and chief of staff in President Nicolás Maduro's cabinet for nearly six months from March to September 2015. After a governorship in Lara (2017–2020), she headed the Interior Ministry for the second time, from October 2020 to August 2021.^[2][3][4]

Carmen Meléndez
Meléndez in 2014
Governor of Lara
In office 16 October 2017 – 25 October 2020
Preceded by	Henri Falcón
Succeeded by	Adolfo Pereira Antique
Minister of Office of the Presidency and Monitoring of Government Management
In office 10 March 2015 – 8 September 2015
Preceded by	Carlos Osorio
Succeeded by	Jesús Salazar
Minister of Interior and Justice
In office 25 October 2020 – 19 August 2021
Preceded by	Néstor Reverol
Succeeded by	Remigio Ceballos
In office 25 October 2014 – 9 March 2015
Preceded by	Miguel Rodríguez Torres
Succeeded by	Gustavo González López
Minister of Defense
In office 5 July 2013 – 25 October 2014
President	Nicolás Maduro
Preceded by	Diego Molero
Succeeded by	Vladimir Padrino López
Personal details
Born	(1961-11-03) 3 November 1961 (age 63) Barinas, Venezuela
Political party	United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV)
Children	3

Political career

Meléndez was the Deputy Minister of Education of the Ministry of Defense.^[5] On July 3, 2012, the president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, promoted her to the rank of Vice Admiral.^[6] Melendez was the first Venezuelan woman to receive this distinction in after being named Commander of General Staff of the Bolivarian Armed Forces.^[7] On 13 October, she was named Minister of People's Power of the Office by President Hugo Chavez and confirmed by national decree on 15 October.^{[citation needed]} On 21 April 2013, during a national radio and television, she was reaffirmed as Minister of Management the Bolivarian Government of Venezuela for the government of Nicolas Maduro.^[8] On 3 July 2013 the president of the republic amounts to admiral in chief and July 5, 2013, the appointed Minister of Defense, the first woman to hold both charges in the history of Venezuela.^[9]

Sanctions

Meléndez has been sanctioned by several countries and is banned from entering neighboring Colombia. The Colombian government maintains a list of people banned from entering Colombia or subject to expulsion; as of January 2019, the list had 200 people with a "close relationship and support for the Nicolás Maduro regime".^[10][11]

United States

On 9 August 2017, the United States Department of the Treasury placed sanctions on Meléndez for her position in the 2017 Constituent Assembly of Venezuela where she is tasked with the street government command.^[12]

Canada

Canada sanctioned Meléndez on 22 September 2017 due to alleged "rupture of Venezuela's constitutional order."^[13][14]

Panama

On 29 March 2018, Meléndez was sanctioned by the Panamanian government for her alleged involvement with "money laundering, financing of terrorism and financing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction".^[15]