Background
Santiago Marino was born on 25 July 1788 in Nueva Esparta.
Santiago Marino was born on 25 July 1788 in Nueva Esparta.
With the outbreak of the independence movement, he was a leader of the struggle in the Guayana region. After Francisco de Miranda surrendered, however, Marino went into exile in Trinidad. In 1813 he headed a group of returning exiles who joined Simón Bolívar in the east, but returned to Trinidad after the defeat of independence forces in the first Battle of Carabobo.
Mariño returned home again in 1816. At the Congress of Guayana. he opposed Bolivar, although subsequently he pledged support to him. Elected to the second Venezuelan Congress in February 1819, Mariño quickly returned to military activity. He was chief of staff at the Battle of Carabobo which assured Venezuelan independence.
Mariño supported José Antonio Páez in separating Venezuela from the Republic of Gran Colombia in 1830. In the following year, he suppressed the revolt against Páez led by General José Tadeo Monagas.
In 1834 Mariño was an unsuccessful candidate for president. In 1835 he headed the Reformist Revolution which overthrew President José María Vargas, but he was defeated by troops led by General Páez, who restored Vargas to office.
Mariño then retired to his estates in Aragua. However, in 1848, he led the army that defeated General Páez, who had revolted against his hand-picked successor. General José Tadeo Monagas. In 1850 Mariño was again an unsuccessful candidate for president.