In 1908 a dispute broke out between the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 and Cipriano Castro

Cipriano Castro

José Cipriano Castro Ruiz was a high ranking member of the Venezuelan military, politician and the President of Venezuela from 1899 to 1908...

's Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

 on the grounds of the harbouring of refugees in Curaçao

Curaçao

Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...

. Venezuela expelled the Dutch ambassador, prompting a Dutch dispatch of three warships - a battleship, the Jacob van Heemskerk, and two cruisers, the Gelderland and the Friesland. On December 12, the Gelderland captured the Venezuelan coast guardship Alix off Puerto Cabello

Puerto Cabello

Puerto Cabello is a city on the north coast of Venezuela. It is located in Carabobo State about 75 km west of Caracas. As of 2001, the city has a population of around 154,000 people. The city is the home to the largest port in the country and is thus a vital cog in the country's vast oil...

. With their overwhelming naval superiority, the Dutch enforced a blockade on Venezuela's ports. A few days later, General Castro left for Berlin, nominally for a surgical operation. In his absence, an uprising in Caracas overthrew his regime. This effectively ended the war with the Netherlands.