One of the club's most significant milestones was achieved on March 1, 2018, in their first 2018 Copa Libertadores match, when they beat the top winner of the competition Independiente 1–0 with a goal by Carlos Sierra.

This began a promising project, as it had taken in consideration the youth teams of the club, and there were transfers of experienced players such as Miguel Mea Vitali, Edgar Pérez Greco, Rafael Castellín, David McIntosh, Vicente Suanno, José Manuel Rey, Norman Baquero, Marcelo Maidana, Bladimir Morales, and for a long-term project which made them long contracts.

[4] Coach Rafael Dudamel was appointed as manager for the 2014 Clausura tournament, and with him at the helm Deportivo Lara made it to the Serie Sudamericana in 2015 and also advanced to the final of the 2015 Copa Venezuela, which they lost against Deportivo La Guaira, whilst in that same year they made it to the knockout stage of the 2015 Adecuación tournament, losing to that same team in the quarter-finals.

[5] In that same year, Luzardo transferred his shares in the club to Jorge Giménez and Silvio Ochoa, who brought Leonardo González as new manager.

In July 2021 Jorge Giménez was elected as president of the Venezuelan Football Federation (FVF) and left the club, being replaced by Daniel Villasmil, who in turn passed the baton to Khalil Yusef in March 2022.

The club began to fall behind in its payments, while at the same time the situation on the field was not much better as the team drifted through the bottom of the table in the league season.

[7] Saragó was replaced by Jesús Ortiz, with whom Deportivo Lara started a comeback that allowed them to avoid relegation and also qualify for the final stages of the competition, narrowly missing out on a Copa Sudamericana berth.

[8][9] However, that debt played a major factor in leading the FVF to refuse granting Deportivo Lara the club license required to compete in the 2023 Primera División season.