Tortuga (vehicle)
Introduction

The **Tortuga** (Spanish for *Turtle*) was an [armored vehicle](/wiki/Armored_vehicle "Armored vehicle") designed and built in Venezuela in 1934, during the rule of [Juan Vicente Gómez](/wiki/Juan_Vicente_G%C3%B3mez "Juan Vicente Gómez"). It was assembled at the [Puerto Cabello](/wiki/Puerto_Cabello "Puerto Cabello") shipyard by Engineer Tomás Pacanins. First displayed at a military parade in the city of [Maracay](/wiki/Maracay "Maracay"), the vehicle's existence was meant to send a clear message to neighboring [Colombia](/wiki/Colombia "Colombia") \- which had created several border and political incidents since its victory over [Perú](/wiki/Per%C3%BA "Perú") in the [Leticia Incident](/wiki/Leticia_Incident "Leticia Incident") \- as was the whole parade. On December 23, 1934, the *Tortuga* was first revealed to the public, in conjunction with two Italian [Ansaldo](/wiki/Italian_Ansaldo_company "Italian Ansaldo company") [CV 33](/wiki/L3/33 "L3/33") infantry [tanks](/wiki/Tank "Tank").


Why was the Tortuga designed and built in Venezuela?