During 2013, under the Kirchnerist government, Argentina maintained a very close relationship with Venezuela's Chavista regime. On May 8 of that year, the administration of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, currently prosecuted for corruption, granted Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro the Order of the Liberator San Martín, the highest distinction that the Argentine State can grant to foreign personalities in recognition of their merits and services.
At that time, the distinction was harshly criticized by broad sectors of society, due to the escalation of state violence in Venezuela under Maduro's dictatorship, with deaths, injuries, repression, political prisoners, and a severe economic crisis.
The award ceremony was held at the Bicentennial Museum and represented a symbol of the political bond between Kirchnerism and Chavismo. Maduro, visibly moved, thanked Cristina Kirchner for the gesture and expressed his wish that Venezuela could live up to the honor received.
The Order of the Liberator General San Martín was created on August 17, 1943, during the de facto government of Pedro Pablo Ramírez, and acquired its current form in 1967 through Decree 16,643. The distinction is granted by a commission composed of the President of the Nation, who acts as "Grand Master," and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who serves as "Grand Chancellor." At that time, Héctor Timerman held that position.
