Chávez received several decorations: the Star of Carabobo ("Estrella de Carabobo"); the Land Forces Cross ("Cruz de las Fuerzas Terrestres"); and was awarded the Military Order of Francisco de Miranda, the Order of Rafael Urdaneta, and the Order of the Liberator, 5th Class (Military Division). Chávez continued playing baseball and softball: he went to the 1976 National Baseball Championships, held in Barinas; and he played in military baseball tournaments, among the most important of which were those held in Cumaná in 1977 and the Dominican Republic in 1980. Apart from his writing, Chávez sculpted, producing such works as the 1980 "Sombra de Guerra en el Golfo" ("Shadows of War in the Gulf").