He was born to General Miguel Delgado Briceño (son of Santos Román Delgado Abreu and Abigail Briceño Gabaldón, whose grandparent was an Andalusian colonist) and Dolores Chalbaud Calderón (the daughter of José Antonio Chalbaud, a French immigrant, and Dolores Calderón Carrillo).
He was Commander in Chief of the Venezuelan Navy during the Revolución Libertadora led by Manuel Antonio Matos against the government of Cipriano Castro.
The following year Delgado founded the Compañía Anónima de Navegación Fluvial y Costanera, which controlled the entire maritime and river transport of Venezuela, with Gómez holding some shares.
On the morning of 11 August 1929 Delgado led the steamship Falke (renamed General Anzoátegui for the occasion) into Cumaná.
[3] Venezuela's roving diplomat in Europe, José Ignacio Cárdenas, had reported on the planned expedition, which helped defeat it.