Before leaving Venezuela, the Liberator issued a proclamation, for he never neglected an opportunity to speak to his fellow-countrymen and to the world in order to build up favorable public opinion, by which he hoped to win a final victory. In that document Bolívar emphasized the fact that the Spaniards themselves had done very little harm in the fields of battle to the cause of independence, and that defeats were due mainly to the native royalists. This assertion was intended to produce a change of mind on the part of the native population.
"It seems that Heaven, to grant us at one time humiliation and pride, has permitted that our conquerors be our own brothers, and that our brothers only may triumph over us. The army of freedom exterminated the enemy's force, but it could not and should not exterminate the men for whose happiness it fought in hundreds of battles. It is not just to destroy the men who do not want to be free, nor can freedom be enjoyed under strength of arms against the opinion of fanatics whose depraved souls make them love chains as though they were social ties.... Your brothers and not the Spaniards have torn your bosom, shed your blood, set your homes on fire and condemned you to exile."
He then affirmed that he was going to Nueva Granada to render an account of his conduct and to have an impartial judgment, and finished by asserting to the Venezuelans that the people of Nueva Granada would again help them, and that he would always be on the side of liberty.
The East was soon subjected, and all Venezuela was once again under the yoke of Spain, mainly through the work of her own children. During these campaigns Piar and Ribas and the brave General Bermúdez, of whom we shall speak later, were united for a while, but at last each one took his own way. The only good thing that occurred at this time was Boves' death in a battle in December, 1814. Morales was still left as Venezuela's curse.
Ribas, after a defeat, was traveling with two officers. He was sick and sad. He lay down to rest under a tree while his servant went to a near-by town to obtain some provisions. The servant betrayed his master, and Ribas was imprisoned. In the town he was humiliated and insulted. Then he was killed. His head was sent to Caracas and placed in an iron cage at the entrance of the city. His wife, who was Bolívar's aunt, locked herself in a room and swore not to go out until freedom was achieved, and she remained true to her vow.