Born in Caracas, he returned to Venezuela following the downfall of the dictatorship of Marcos Pérez Jiménez in 1958 and was elected to the Congress that same year, representing the Democratic Republican Union (Unión Republicana Democrática, URD).

[1] Rangel played a role in the 1993 impeachment of President Carlos Andrés Pérez, being the first to publish (in November 1992) the corruption allegations which would ultimately be endorsed by the Supreme Court.

[citation needed] Hugo Chávez chose Rangel to serve as his Minister of Foreign Affairs when he took office as president in February 1999.

[3] Rangel served in that position until early February 2001, when Chávez instead appointed him as Minister of Defence, replacing General Ismael Hurtado.

His son, José Vicente Rangel Ávalos, has also been involved in Venezuelan politics, having been mayor of the Sucre District in Caracas.