This article focuses on the role of public humanitarian aid in the response of Hugo Chávez's government to La Tragedia of December 1999. The article demonstrates how the bureaucratic treatment of victims became emblematic of the social policies of the Bolivarian regime founded on the militarization of institutions. In its description of the layout and the facilities of a shelter at a military fort, this article examines the practical implications of the official discourse of “dignification policies” in the normalization of the everyday life of disaster victims. The article challenges the procedures of the political and social legitimization of the armed forces in Venezuelan society.