"The Republic suffers an equal pain in the death of the most daring Colonel Plaza, who, filled with unparalleled enthusiasm, threw himself against an enemy battalion to conquer it. Colonel Plaza deserves the tears of Colombia … The Spanish army had over 6,000 picked men. This army does not exist any more; 400 of the enemy's men entered Puerto Cabello today."
The struggle for Venezuelan independence opened on April 19, 1810, in
Caracas, and closed on June 24, 1821, at Carabobo.
The Congress decreed the highest honors to the conquerors of Carabobo, ordered a day of public rejoicing throughout the whole country, and set the following day for the funerals of all those who had fallen on the field of battle.
After the battle of Carabobo, Venezuela was divided into three military districts, which were placed under the command respectively of Mariño, Páez and Bermúdez, who had also been promoted to the rank of general. In this way, Bolívar tried to satisfy the ambitions of his officers, who, in more than one respect, considered their conquests as private property.
This was especially true of Páez. The Liberator had to be very careful in dealing with them, constantly impelled by the fear that through peace their restlessness would become a danger to the stability of the country. Bolívar summarized the situation when he exclaimed:
"I am more afraid of peace than of war!"
His attention was then turned to the campaign of the South. He had been informed that San Martín was inclined to deal with the royalists, and he wanted to hasten there to avoid any such compromise. At this time he learned that the independence of Mexico was a fact, and he became impatient to finish the emancipation of Colombia by means of the freedom of the Isthmus of Panamá, which he used to call the "carrier of the universe."
Upon the organization of Colombia, as a result of the union of Nueva Granada and Venezuela, Bolívar was made president, and in that capacity he signed the constitution of 1821. In his communication to the Congress of Rosario de Cúcuta, he reiterated his desire to resign the command. On this occasion, his declaration could not be more emphatic.
"A man like me is a dangerous citizen in a popular government. He is an immediate threat to the national sovereignty. I want to be a cit in order to secure my own freedom and the freedom of everybody else. I prefer the title of citizen to that of Liberator, because the latter comes from war and the former comes from the law. Change, I beg you, all my titles for that of good citizen."
Of course, no one would think of accepting his resignation at a moment when his genius was most needed for the organization of the country.