Bolivarian Military Technical Academy

In 1991, the Federal Government established the Armed Forces Basic School (Escuela Basica de la FF. AA. Nacionales, ESCUBAFAN, later on ESCUBAFANB) which served as a college-preparatory school preparing male and female graduates of high schools, public, private and military, for studies in the military academies after 2 years of education. As part of the modernization and expansion of the armed forces to meet the challenges of the 21st century, then president Hugo Chávez transformed the Basic School to become the Technical Officers' Military Institute (Instituto de Formación de Oficiales Técnicos de la Fuerza Armada Nacional Bolivariana), with a four-year course for officers of the technical and administrative services of the National Armed Forces, in accordance with amendments to the Armed Forces Law made on 31 July 2008. This new institution merged the Basic School with the warrant officer schools which had then been closed as part of the transformation of the warrant officer corps to become the then brand new technical officer corps of the NBAF. On 10 March 2009, the academy was granted a new charter, renamed as the Technical Officer's School (Escuela de Formación de Oficiales Técnicos, EFOTEC). Its current name and charter was given in 2010 when the Military University was founded. Each of the schools under the BMTA system have long and distinguished histories of their own. == Organization of the BMTA system ==

In 2019–2020, the BMTA was reorganized into four service-specialty and two occupational specialty schools: • Army Technical Academy, Air Force Technical Academy, Armed Forces Communications and Electronics College, Health Sciences Academy and HQ Military Technical Academy - Maracay • Naval Technical Academy - Caita La Mar • National Guard Technical Academy - Michelena • Health Sciences Academy - Caracas == Curriculum ==

The BMTA is a medium-sized, highly residential baccalaureate college, with a full-time, four-year undergraduate program (five years for medical officers, 3 years for civilians in the communications courses) that emphasizes instruction in the arts, sciences, and professions with no graduate program. As all its military cadets are commissioned as second lieutenants and ensigns in the technical services upon graduation, military and leadership education is nested with academic instruction in the following specialties and subjects: • Navigation • Hydrology • Geography • Industrial production and manufacture • Military security and sciences • Air power • Logistics • Information technology and electronics • Finance • Transport • Health and Medicine • Engineering • Electrical engineering • Environmental studies All the military officer cadets of the academy, aside from their officer's commission, receive a Bachelor of Science degree upon graduation regardless of their major. The academy is accredited as a public education institution by the Ministry of Higher Education. The civilian students in the communications course receive an associate degree in Electronics and Communications after three years' study. == Controversies ==

Javier Toro Blanco Case On July 11, 2023, an event shook the facilities of the Army Technical Military School in Maracay, Aragua state. Cadet Javier Toro Blanco, 17 years old and in his second year at the academy, was fatally wounded in the abdomen with a dagger. Toro Blanco was the son of Inspector Francisco Toro, an active officer in the Aragua state police. The official report issued by the Integral Defense Operational Zone number 44 in Aragua, under the direction of G/D Edward Stevens Betancourt Gudiño, states that the cadet suffered an abdominal wound and was immediately transported to the Cnel. Elbano Paredes Vivas Military Hospital in Maracay. After undergoing an exploratory laparotomy, doctors found injuries to the infrarenal aorta, the abdominal aorta, and a right renal injury. Despite medical efforts, Toro Blanco died from grade IV hypovolemic shock at approximately 9:30 p.m. on the same day. by two superior officers. Captain Cristóbal Rafael Orozco and First Lieutenant Edicvani José Díaz Lozano, both 32, were found guilty of abusing the young woman who was studying Mechanical Engineering at the Bolivarian Technical Military Academy. During his service, León Sevilla attended numerous ideological meetings, where he regularly expressed his disagreement with the guidelines and opinions presented. Moreover, he spoke out against acts of corruption he had perceived. These actions put him on the radar of high-ranking military officials. It was the ATMB's brigadier general, Pablo Beltrán Pérez Villamizar, who made the decision to detain León Sevilla. Under his custody, the lieutenant faced restrictions that denied him contact with his family and limited his freedom of movement. In a surprising turn of events, his release was facilitated by a BTMA colleague responsible for the psychological evaluation of the military. This colleague issued a diagnosis stating that León Sevilla had mental health issues, which gave him an opportunity to visit his family. It was during this time that he made the decision to flee Venezuela. Despite the gravity of his situation, the lieutenant made the decisive action to leave his homeland without his family, fearing potential retaliation and the well-known tortures he might endure if arrested again. From his position abroad, León Sevilla has urged Juan Guaidó to adopt stronger measures and to unify efforts with other exiled military personnel in Colombia. ==References==