How Indira Gandhi Built 'Bridges Of Love' in Venezuela In Just 18 Hours

Last Updated:January 08, 2026, 14:53 IST

Amid Venezuela's current crisis, Indira Gandhi's 1968 visit to Caracas forged lasting India-Venezuela ties, marked by emotional moments and a pledge for cooperation and solidarity

On her return to India, Indira Gandhi reflected on the Venezuela visit in the Lok Sabha, calling it an emotional experience.

Amid the political turmoil engulfing Venezuela today, marked by reports of President Nicolas Maduro being taken away by US forces and Vice President Delcy Rodriguez assuming charge, it is worth recalling a very different chapter in the country’s engagement with India.

India’s ties with Venezuela stretch back to the era of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, whose brief but memorable visit in October 1968 left a lasting imprint on bilateral relations. On October 10, 1968, as her aircraft touched down at Simon Bolívar International Airport in Caracas at precisely 12:45 pm, the atmosphere was one of rare excitement. The airport was crowded with well-wishers, Indian expatriates and schoolchildren, while Venezuela’s then president Raul Leoni stood alongside his cabinet to receive her.

As Gandhi descended the aircraft steps, the military band struck India’s national anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’, followed by Venezuela’s own anthem. Indian and Venezuelan flags fluttered as applause rippled through the crowd. The Indian Embassy in Caracas later documented the moment in a commemorative book, noting that the visit formed part of Gandhi’s extensive Latin American and Caribbean tour that began in Colombia on September 23 and included Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Argentina. Venezuela, however, had only an 18-hour window in her tightly packed itinerary.

Those hours, by all accounts, were emotionally charged. Defying diplomatic convention, Gandhi sought permission to break protocol and step into the crowd to accept bouquets from admirers. Dressed in a green sari with black checks woven with golden thread, a pearl necklace around her neck and a watch on her wrist, she drew sustained applause. One moment stood out when a young Indian girl, M Rao, daughter of a UNESCO official, presented her with flowers. Gandhi paused, smiled and embraced the child, drawing cheers from onlookers. As her motorcade departed, Indian nationals at the airport spontaneously began singing the national anthem, lending the farewell a deeply personal tone.

Her first engagement in Caracas was a visit to the National Pantheon, where she paid floral tribute at the tomb of Simon Bolivar, the liberator of Venezuela from Spanish colonial rule. Even there, crowds gathered, applauding and seeking autographs.

Later that day, Gandhi articulated the spirit of her journey. “I have come to build bridges of love between Latin America and my country," she said, expressing hope for enduring people-to-people ties between India and Venezuela. President Leoni, in response, underlined the shared challenges facing both nations; poverty, economic inequality and resistance to external interference. The two sides issued a joint declaration announcing the opening of an Indian embassy in Caracas and cooperation in trade, culture, science and technology, while voicing concern over global economic imbalances and the concentration of wealth in developed countries.

On her return to India, Gandhi reflected on the visit in the Lok Sabha, calling it an emotional experience. South America, she observed, seemed to know India better than Indians knew themselves. The names of Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore and Jawaharlal Nehru were, she said, familiar across the continent. Strengthening ties with South American and Caribbean nations, she argued, was firmly in India’s national interest.

That brief Venezuela stopover captured a moment when newly independent nations sought solidarity beyond Cold War alignments, drawing on shared colonial histories and aspirations for autonomy. Decades on, India-Venezuela relations rarely command headlines, yet their foundations remain visible, from Simon Bolivar Marg in New Delhi’s diplomatic enclave to a primary school in a village in West Bengal.

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