London, 19 July. Tidings arrived via Curacao dealing with the surrender of the city Maracaïbo to the Colombian forces. Two Spanish armed schooners sailed 13 May from Maracaïbo towards Puerto Cabello unknown from the fact that the Colombian admiral Padilla some hours earlier passed the Bar. The result was that both schooners were captured. At noon were both ships manned by the admiral with his own sailors and soldiers and whit the Spanish flag still hoisted they went towards the city. Some Colombian vessels followed both schooners pretending that they were pursuing them. Around 07.00 o’clock the whole Colombian fleet departed and when the Spanish fortress saw the two schooners they begun to fire at the Colombian being not aware of the list. The two schooners anchored off the castle San Carlos firing with blanks at the Colombian vessels. As soon as the latter were in battle with the fortress both schooners landed troops on land and the soldiers entered in three parties the fortress. In the meantime was the Colombian vessel Mars so heavily damaged that she sunk taking nearly everything on board with her. The Spanish commanding officer Morals retired to Gibraltar leaving Maracaïbo to the Colombians.
