Victorino Márquez Bustillos (2 November 1858 – 10 January 1941), was a Venezuelan lawyer and politician, and was provisional president of Venezuela from 1914 to 1922. Although Bustillos was elected by Congress, General Juan Vicente Gómez remained the real power behind the presidency. Victorino Márquez died in Caracas on 10 January 1941, aged 82. Early life Márquez was the son of Victorino Márquez and Virginia Bustillos. He married Enriqueta Iragorry Briceño. Political career State of Los Andes The political career of Márquez began in modern-day Trujillo under the governments of Juan Bautista Araujo and Leopoldo Baptista. While in Trujillo, he served as director of the newspaper El Trujillano for ten years between 1877 and 1887. In 1890, the State of Los Andes – which today are the states of Mérida, Trujillo and Táchira – chose Márquez to be their deputy. Crespo government In 1892, despite being the second cousin of the recently overthrown President Raimundo Andueza Palacio, Márquez joined the Legalist Revolution, which was led by Joaquín Crespo. One year later in 1893, Crespo promoted him to the position of brigadier general. Castro government In 1898, President Crespo left office and was later killed in battle while defending his successor, President Ignacio Andrade. A year later in 1899, President Andrade was overthrown by Cipriano Castro, who named himself President of Venezuela and supreme military commander. From 1902 to 1904, Márquez served as Secretary of the Trujillo State Government and was also a deputy of the Trujillo District to the State Assembly between 1904 and 1906. Gómez government General Juan Vicente Gómez seized power from President Castro in December 1908 while he was receiving medical treatment in Europe. Gómez would rule Venezuela as a powerful caudillo until his death in 1935. Márquez was chosen to be Secretary of Government of the Zulia state in 1909. In 1910, as provisional president of the Trujillo state, he distanced himself from Leopoldo Baptista after he refused to validate him in office again. Márquez would later serve as a senator for Trujillo state (1910–1914 ), governor of the Federal District (1911–1912) and Minister of War and Navy (1913–1914). Provisional President of Venezuela In April 1914, Juan Vicente Gómez was elected President of Venezuela by the President of Congress for the 1915–1922 period, but Gómez declined and instead stayed in Maracay as commander in chief of the Venezuelan army. As a result of this, Márquez was