 Juan Antonio Sotillo was born in Santa Ana of Anzoátegui, Venezuela, in 1790.Born to a family of humble means, the young Juan Antonio Sotillo started his military career in 1815 as a soldier in the Santa Ana cavalry squadron, under the orders of general José Tadeo Monagas.On 27 September 1816, he participated, still under general Monagas' orders, in the battle of El Juncal, against the Spanish royalist general Francisco Tomás Morales.