Formed in 1970 by anti-revisionist members of the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR), the party initially supported the ideology of Enver Hoxha and the Party of Labour of Albania following the Sino-Albanian split, though in later years it gravitated back towards China.

A young Hugo Chávez's first assignment in the Venezuelan Army was as commander of a communications platoon attached to a counter-insurgency force—the Manuel Cedeño Mountain Infantry Battalion, headquartered in Barinas and Cumaná.

In 1976, under the presidency of Carlos Andrés Pérez it was tasked with suppressing the guerrilla insurgency staged by the party.

In the 2006 presidential election, the Red Flag Party supported the candidature of Manuel Rosales.

In 2014, the party left the Democratic Unity Table due to disagreements over objectives and not considering the coalition capable of placing itself on the forefront of people's struggles.