A republic is a type of government that has no king, queen, or other monarch and where the people are sovereign. This means that people can choose leaders to represent them and make the laws. The word republic comes from the Latin language words res publica, which means public thing.
Cabimas is a city on the shore of Maracaibo Lake in Zulia State in northwestern Venezuela. Its current population is around 200,859 (2005). Before 1900, Venezuela was known to possess commercial quantities of petroleum. One major find was the 'Zumaque 1' well in 1914, in the area of Mene Grande, about 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Cabimas. It was the blowout of the Barroso No. 2 well in Cabimas in 1922 that marked the beginning of Venezuela's modern history as a major producer.
Located in the southwestern Colombian state of NariÃ±o, the Las Lajas Sanctuary sits on a 130 feet tall bridge built over the Guaitara river at less than seven miles from the Ecuadorian border. The neo-Gothic church was erected by worshipers between 1916 and 1953 and replaced a shrine first built in the mid-18th century.