A Lebanese Venezuelan is a Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

n citizen of Lebanese

Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

 origin or descent. There are around 340,000 Venezuelans of Lebanese origin. Venezuela has one of the largest Lebanese populations in the Americas.

Migration history

Lebanese immigration to Venezuela started as early as the 19th and 20th centuries. They are present in significant numbers in Caracas

Caracas

Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...

.

This immigration has influence Venezuelan culture, in particular Lebanese food and music.

In religion, the majority of Arab-Venezuelans are Christians who belong to the Roman Catholic

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

, Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Rite Catholic Churches

Eastern Rite Catholic Churches

The Eastern Catholic Churches are autonomous, self-governing particular churches in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. Together with the Latin Church, they compose the worldwide Catholic Church...

. There are few Muslims.

Notable people

• Tarek El Aissami
  Tarek El Aissami
  Tarek El Aissami is a Venezuelan politician. As of 2009, he is the interior minister and justice minister of Venezuela. He was previously deputy minister in the same ministry, and a member of the National Assembly of Venezuela.-References:...
  
  , Venezuelan interior minister and justice minister
• Tarek Saab
  Tarek Saab
  Tarek William Saab Halabi is a Lebanese-Venezuelan politician, lawyer and poet. He is a human rights activist and a leader of the Fifth Republic Movement party founded by Hugo Chávez, President of Venezuela. He has been the Governor of Anzoátegui since 2004.-Background:The son of Lebanese...
  
  , politician, lawyer, and poet
• Coraima Torres
  Coraima Torres
  Coraima Alejandra Torres Díaz was born on June 6, 1973 in Valencia, Venezuela. She started her acting career in Venezuela, in the late '80s. Her first roles were in the telenovelas "Gardenia" and "Alondra". She got her first leading role in 1992, in the famous telenovela "Kassandra", which was...
  
  , actress
• Elizabeth Ayoub
  Elizabeth Ayoub
  Elizabeth Ayoub is an Venezuelan singer and actress of Lebanese descent. She performs in Spanish, Arabic, English, and French, though emphasizing the Latino and Arabian music scenes. Her first album, Prelude , was released via Sony BMG and was followed by Oceanos y Lunas in 2010 via Four Quarters...
  
  , singer and actress

External links

Al Jadid: Arabs making their mark in Latin America