CARACAS — 1989 · Major Tragedy

The Caracazo

Under InvestigationSources: ALast updated: 14 October 2026

Over the weekend of 25-26 February 1989, as part of an IMF-backed austerity package, petrol prices in Venezuela doubled and public transport fares rose. Protests that began on 27 February in the town of Guarenas quickly spread, with looting and rioting, to Caracas and surrounding towns. On 28 February the government suspended constitutional rights, imposed a curfew and sent the army into the streets. In a week of clashes, mostly by security forces' gunfire, 276 people died according to official figures and hundreds or thousands according to other estimates. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights held Venezuela responsible in 1999. The then defence minister was charged in 2009; accountability remains contested.

Date: 1989
Place: Caracas and Guarenas, Venezuela, Caracas, VE
Category: Major Tragedy
Case Status: Under Investigation
Coordinates: 10.5000, -66.9160 ↗

Timeline of Events

25-26 February 1989Petrol prices doubled.
27 February 1989Protests beginning in Guarenas spread to Caracas.
28 February 1989Constitutional rights were suspended and a curfew imposed.

22 March 1989Constitutional rights were fully restored.
2009The then defence minister was charged.

Sources

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