In January, 1826, he left Chuquisaca for the coast and from there he sailed for Perú, and a month later reached Lima, where he rendered an account of what he had done in Upper Perú and in the South. By that time the last stronghold of the Spaniards, Callao, had fallen into the hands of the Venezuelan general, Bartolomé Salom, a very distinguished officer who had played a remarkable rôle under Bolívar during the War of Independence. The resistance of Rodil in Callao is one of the best examples of Spanish bravery. Rodil was a rough soldier, and often harsh and cruel in his measures. In spite of hunger, illness and losses, he remained in Callao for almost eleven months, not surrendering until January 23, 1826; he and his men were the last representatives of the Spanish power to leave the continent.
As soon as everything was well organized in Perú, Bolívar made ready to return to Colombia. At that time some imprudent friends tried to convince him that it was to the best interest of the now independent countries that he should be made emperor of the Andes, which covered Colombia, Perú and Bolivia. From Caracas, Páez proposed that he should return to Colombia and set up a monarchy. Bolívar steadfastly refused to listen to any of these seductions. To Páez he wrote:
"France had always been a kingdom. The Repúblican government discredited itself and became more and more debased until it fell into an abyss of hate. The ministers who led France were equally cruel and inept. Napoleon was great, singular, and, besides that, extremely ambitious. Nothing of the kind exists here. I am not Napoleon, no I wish to be; neither do I want to imitate Caesar, and still less Iturbide…. The magistrates of Colombia are neither Robespierre nor Marat…. Colombia has never been a kingdom. A throne would produce terror on account of its height as well as on account of its glamour."
To all his friends he declared his decided opposition to the monarchical idea. In another letter, addressed to vice-president Santander, he wrote:
"I have fulfilled all my obligations, for I have done my duty as a soldier, the only profession which I have followed since the first day of the Republic…. I was not born to be a magistrate…. Even if a soldier saves his country, he rarely proves a good executive…. You, only, are a glorious exception to this rule."
One of the greatest rewards for his ambition, the one he valued the most throughout the rest of his life, was received at that time. It consisted of Washington's picture and a lock of his hair, sent as a present by Washington's family from Mount Vernon through General Lafayette. In his letter to Bolívar, Lafayette said:
"My religious and filial devotion to General Washington could not be better recognized by his family than by honoring me with the commission they have entrusted to me…. Of all men living, and even of all men in history, Bolívar is the very one to whom my paternal friend w have preferred to send this present. What else can I say to the great citizen whom South America has honored with the name of Liberator, confirmed in him by two worlds, a man endowed with an influence equal to his self-denial, who carries in his heart the sole love of freedom and of the republic?"
Bolívar answered:
"There are no words with which I can express how my heart appreciates this gift…. Washington's family honors me beyond my greatest hopes, because Washington's gift presented by Lafayette is the crown of all human rewards."[1]
[Footnote 1: From that time until his death Bolívar preferred to any other decoration, Washington's miniature picture, which often he wore on his breast. Venezuela keeps with veneration this sacred relic in the Museo Boliviano of Caracas.]