The symbolic remains of Afro-Venezuelan independence hero, Pedro Camejo or "Negro Primero," have been transferred to the nation's "Hall of Heroes" mausoleum in Caracas in a ceremony paying homage to the 194th anniversary of the decisive anti-colonial Battle of Carabobo. Camejo, who was born into slavery to Guadeloupian parents, was the only high ranking Afro-descendant official in the Venezuelan independence forces led by Simon Bolivar, which eventually secured the country's liberation from Spanish colonial rule in 1821. Known as "Negro Primero" (Black man at the fore) for his bravery in battle, he was awarded the "Liberator's Order" by Bolivar in 1819.
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-- The Cavalry Lieutenant was killed in action on June 24th during the legendary Battle of Carabobo which sealed Venezuelan independence. He has become an evocative symbol of Black Power within the country's Bolivarian Revolution over the last fifteen years. According to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro,the "beloved and celebrated" figure of Negro Primero had hitherto been excluded from the national pantheon of liberators due to "historic racism".
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