[2] Guaicaipuro formed a powerful coalition of different tribes which he led during part of the 16th century against the Spanish conquest of Venezuelan territory in the central region of the country, especially in the Caracas valley.

The Spaniards discovered gold in the area of the land of the Teques, and as they started to exploit the mines, Guaicaipuro attacked, forcing the Spanish to leave.

Following the attack, the governor of the province of Venezuela sent Juan Rodríguez Suárez [es] to pacify the area, which apparently he did after defeating Guaicaipuro in several engagements.

Immediately thereafter, Rodríguez Suárez who was on his way to the city of Valencia, with a small contingent of only six soldiers, with the purpose of meeting Lope de Aguirre, another Spanish conquistador, was ambushed by Guaicaipuro and killed.

Amidst the new policy started by former president Hugo Chávez of re-assessing and valuing the role of Venezuela's caciques and indigenous peoples in a historical narrative which has traditionally given greater prominence to the Spanish conquistadores, Guaicaipuro's remains were symbolically moved (his actual remains have never been found) under ceremonial pomp to the national pantheon on December 8, 2001.