Dirección de Seguridad Nacional
# Dirección de Seguridad Nacional

The Directory of National Security (Spanish: Dirección de Seguridad Nacional, abbreviated as DSN) was the secret police of Venezuela from 1938 until is disestablishment in 1958.

## History

The Directory of National Security was established in 1938 in Venezuela. The Seguridad Nacional was active during the presidencies of Eleazar López Contreras, Isaías Medina Angarita, Rómulo Betancourt, Rómulo Gallegos, Carlos Delgado Chalbaud, Germán Suárez Flamerich, and most notably, Marcos Pérez Jiménez. The purpose of the Seguridad Nacional was to investigate, arrest, torture, or assassinate political opponents to the Venezuelan government. From 1951 until 1953, the Seguridad Nacional operated a prison camp on Guasina Island [es], which was effectively a forced labour camp. The Seguridad Nacional was abolished following the overthrow of Pérez Jiménez on 23 January 1958.

