José Prudencio Padilla

José Prudencio Padilla
José Prudencio Padilla
Born	19 March 1784; Riohacha, Viceroyalty of New Granada
Died	2 October 1828 (aged 44); Bogotá, Gran Colombia
Allegiance	Kingdom of Spain (1798–1811); United Provinces of New Granada (1811-1819); Gran Colombia;
Branch	Spanish Navy; Colombian National Navy; Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela
Service years	1798-1828
Rank	Boatswain (Spanish Navy) ; Admiral (Colombian Navy)
Conflicts	War of the Third Coalition Battle of Trafalgar; ; Colombian War of Independence Siege of Cartagena (1815); Bolívar's campaign to liberate New Granada; Siege of Cartagena (1820–21); ; Venezuelan War of Independence Battle of Lake Maracaibo; ;

Admiral José Prudencio Padilla López (Riohacha, 19 March 1784, – Bogotá, Colombia, 2 October 1828) was a Neogranadine military leader who fought in the Spanish American wars of independence and a hero in the battles of independence for Gran Colombia (present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama).
He was the foremost naval hero of the campaign for independence led by Simón Bolívar, and the creator of the first Navy and Admiral of Great Colombia. He is best known for his victory in the Battle of Lake Maracaibo on 24 July 1823, in which a royalist Spanish fleet was defeated.