Last night, 25 year old Maria Gabriela Isler from Venezuela ( Guarico), 5’10″, was crowned Miss Universe 2013 in Moscow-Russia, making it Venezuela’s 7th win at the competition…

None of the several African beauties came within the top 16, which leaves our Ghanaian rep-Hanniel Jamin unmentioned. Miss Spain was crowned 1st runner up, Miss Ecuador-2nd runner up, Miss Philippines-3rd runner up and Miss Brazil-4th runner up.

Contestants who made it into the the Top 10 included Great Britain, India, USA, Ukraine and Dominican Republic…

When Maria Gabriela Isler was asked during the Interview section of the pageant what her “biggest fear” was, she replied: “Fear is not negative.We should overcome all our fears and this in turn would make us stronger.As soon as we overcome our fears we can face any challenge.”

After her crowning, the president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, sent her his congratulations via Twitter, proclaiming her victory as a “triumph for Venezuela.”