The lead ship was named after Nueva Esparta (Spanish for "New Sparta"), one of the states of Venezuela.

The ships were designed by Vickers-Armstrong shipyards in the 1950s for the Venezuela naval forces.

The design has been identified as a derivative of the Batch 3 Battle-class destroyers built for the United Kingdom and Australia, according to information released by the International Naval Research Organization and several independent researchers in 2006.

They were to form part of a fleet that included a 25,000 ton aircraft carrier and a Tiger-class cruiser.

The fleet arrangement for 30/04/1949 covers: The names assigned to these ships were associated with states in Venezuela.