La Guaira, known until 2019 as Vargas (), is one of the 23 states of Venezuela.

Formerly named after Venezuela's first civilian president, José María Vargas, the state comprises a coastal region in the north of Venezuela, bordering Aragua to the west, Miranda to the east, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Capital District to the south. It is home to both the country's largest seaport and airport. The state capital and largest city is La Guaira followed by Catia La Mar and Maiquetía. The Litoral Varguense conurbation is the principal urban agglomeration in the state, which is part of the Greater Caracas Area.

In 1999, the geographic center of the state suffered major floods and landslides, known as (the Vargas tragedy), causing major losses of life and property, and resulting in forced population movements, including the virtual disappearance of some small towns. Thousands died, and many more fled the area to other states. The state's name was changed on 14 June 2019 to La Guaira.

On 24 June 2026, two large earthquakes devastated the state, with reports indicating that up to 80% of all structures in the state had collapsed.

History

Origin It was the Arauaco natives who first inhabited the central coast and then the western part of Venezuela. However, 500 years before the arrival of Christopher Columbus, they were displaced, in some places by the Caribs, settled on these coasts. The state of La Guaira later became the great Tarma nation, extended between Puerto Maya and the Valles del Tuy, populated by natives, who spoke a Cariban language.

Spanish colonization A mestizo Guaiquerí, Francisco Fajardo, arrived in 1555 and founded La Villa del Rosario. The outrages committed against the aborigines by the Spaniards who accompanied him made his attempt at peaceful conquest fail. As a consequence of this, the aboriginal congress held in the Uveros de Macuto and called by the chief Guaicamacuto, sought to expel Francisco Fajardo from the occupied territory, showing signs of primitive sessions of republican democracy.

Territorial history This political-territorial region has suffered important changes over the years. Its territory (Aguado and Vargas) was part of the province of Caracas, during the whole colonial period.

According to the decree of March 9, 1864, by Marshal Juan Crisóstomo Falcón, the organization of the Federal District is established in the following terms: "Article 2.- The Federal District, whose capital is Caracas, is made up of the former cantons of Caracas, La Guaira and Maiquetía, which will form Departments under the names of "El Libertador", "Vargas" and "Aguado", with Caracas, La Guaira and Maiquetía as their respective capitals. Their limits, those indicated by the law of April 28, 1856, on territorial division". In 1868, Vargas became part, together with the Libertador Department, of the State of Bolivar (current territory of the State of Miranda, Capital District and State of La Guaira together). In 1879, through the agreement of April 30, the twenty states of the Union (of the United States of Venezuela) were reduced to seven large states, the reduction being governed by the Law of April 28, 1856, which established the last sectional demarcation, by which the State of the center is created, composed of Bolivar, Guzmán Blanco, Guárico, Apure and Nueva Esparta, becoming, on April 27, 1881, the "State Guzmán Blanco" composed only of Bolivar, Aragua, Guárico, Nueva Esparta and the department Vargas of the Federal District. In 1889, a year after Antonio Guzmán Blanco left power definitively, it was decided in a new territorial reorganization, to rename the Guzmán Blanco State with the name of "Estado Miranda", excluding from this new arrangement what was the province of Aragua.

In 1909 both Vargas and Aguado were incorporated into Federal District. In 1936 Aguado and Vargas merged into one Department: Vargas. Until 1987, it kept the name and conditions of department, when by decree of 1986 it became Vargas Municipality.

In the 1990s, the autonomist demands that desired the state of La Guaira as a territory differentiated from the Federal District politically and economically increased. In 1998, the government of Rafael Caldera decreed the municipality of Vargas as autonomous, separate from the Federal District, with the status of Federal Territory, and shortly thereafter it definitively became the 23rd state in the nation. The creation of the state of La Guaira has motivated the appearance of new autonomist movements in other regions of the country, as in the case of the municipality Páez in the state of Apure, which has more geographical aspects similar to Táchira than to the rest of Apure. In the past, the state of La Guaira has sought to have the jurisdiction of the Archipelago of Los Roques totally transferred to the state. There are also proposals to subdivide the state into 2 or 3 municipalities, which currently only has a single municipal entity.

Recent history This region of Venezuela has undergone important changes over the years, and while the geographical borders have remained, the territorial delineation has varied. The area was previously one of the departments of the Venezuela's Federal District (the other being the Libertador department, now Libertador Municipality), and the governor of this region was chosen by the national government. The area later evolved into a municipality, but was still dependent on the governor of the Federal District. In the 1990s there were increased calls for Vargas to become a separate entity, distinct from Federal District. In 1998 the government of Rafael Caldera decreed Vargas as an independent municipality, separate from the Federal District, with the statute of Federal Territory. Shortly after it became the 23rd state of Venezuela.

In mid-December 1999, after several days of ever-increasing rains pouring over the Cordillera de la Costa Central and the piedmont within the span of 24 hours along the coastline for about , the state suffered from massive floods which resulted in severe losses of life and property. In its wake as of December 16, the surviving population witnessed the massive destruction of most of the state infrastructure, including the collapse of most roads, bridges, housings, public and private buildings, and of basic services as electricity and communications; in which thousands were killed or missing. Official estimates some 50,000 dead or missing, but the real figure may be much higher. In the following weeks nearly the entire state's population was displaced. Locals refer to the December 1999 disaster as "La Tragedia de Vargas" (the Vargas Tragedy). Such climatic phenomenon (of extraordinarily high rainfall levels) appears to be periodical, having a cycle of about 70 years, and probably has occurred hundreds, perhaps thousands of times since the distant past.

On June 24, 2026, at 18:04 VET, two major earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5, occurred just 39 seconds apart in northern Venezuela. La Guaira State is thought to have sustained the worst loss of life and damage to buildings and infrastructure in the region. The pair of earthquakes killed at least 5,300 people and injured 11,200 more.

Geography

The state of La Guaira is located in the coastal-mountain region, north of the state of Miranda and the capital district. Previously, La Guaira belonged to the federal district, but since 1998, this municipality has been elevated to a state.

This state has only one municipality, the municipality of Vargas, which is divided into eleven parishes. The state government and the municipality's mayor's office are in the same jurisdiction.

The space comprised by the Vargas state is generally elongated, presenting its maximum amplitude in the extreme west towards Carayaca, to then reduce considerably in the center, around the urban centers of Maiquetía and Macuto. From La Guaira it begins to expand again in an almost symmetrical way up to its eastern limit. The state has an area of 1,497 square kilometers (0.13% of the national territory); in fact, it is the second state with the smallest territorial area in the country and represents 12.28% of the capital region. The entity has the following limits: to the north with the Caribbean Sea, to the south with the state of Miranda in the extreme southeast, the Capital District in the central sector and the state of Aragua in the extreme southwest; to the east with the state Miranda (the Chuspa River is the natural border), and to the west with the state of Aragua (Moralera Creek and the Maya River define the boundary with this state).

Geopolitical division

La Guaira state covers a total surface area of .

Municipality Vargas (La Guaira)

Parishes

Caraballeda Carayaca Carlos Soublette (Maiquetía) Caruao (La Sabana) Catia La Mar El Junko La Guaira Macuto Maiquetía Naiguatá

Climate

The climate of the state is a factor that generates strong territorial contrasts, since it varies according to the altitudinal levels. In general, the climate is arid tropical, in the high zones of Galipán, Carayaca and El Junko it is temperate tropical due to the altitude, the humid tropical climate with little rain is characterized in the rest of the territory. In the areas below 400 m.a.s.l., high temperatures predominate presenting an average of 26.1°C with infrequent rainfall. From this level, temperatures are more moderate, with an annual average of 14.7°C and more frequent and intense rainfall. The average annual temperature of La Guaira is 28°C, with scarce daily and annual thermal amplitudes.23

Thus, for the different altitudes in the region, the following characteristics are found for the different altitudinal floors, such as

1.Tropical: It presents an altitude that varies between 0 and 600 m.a.s.l. with an annual average temperature of 25.4 and 26.1°C. In these climates they have registered average values of precipitation in the following spaces:

Puerto Maya - Arrecife (600mm/year). Mamo (325mm/year). Maiquetía - Anare (600–800mm/year). Los Caracas - La Sabana (1100 – 1500mm/year). Caruao - Chuspa (1800mm/year). 2. Low Pre-Mountain and High Pre-Mountain: It presents an altitude that varies between 600 and 1600 m.a.s.l. with an annual average temperature of 18 and 24°C. In these climates they have registered average values of precipitation in:

Carayaca - Petaquire (850 – 900mm/year) 3. Low Mountain: It presents an altitude that varies between 1600 and 2400 m.s.n.m.

Precipitation From the data of monthly average precipitation for a group of representative meteorological stations of the Vargas state, there is a predominance of wet months almost all year round, except for December to March. The seasons with the highest average monthly rainfall records are Caruao and El Portachuelo, where the wet weight is equal to or greater than 10 months. In the coastal plain and foothills, average monthly rainfall records are low throughout the year, with the Mamo season recording the driest period from January to March.

Temperatures The analysis of the geographical distribution of the annual average temperature is carried out based on the stations with available records, being these the ones located in the coastal area. For the mountainous zone, we adapted the equation of correlation between the average temperature of an area in degrees Celsius and the height above sea level. of the sea, according to the equation: Average 27.6°C (average level 0.6) / 100.

Zones