The Government of Venezuela reported this Tuesday that it reached an agreement with Israel to establish a consular coordination mechanism, a step that seeks to facilitate assistance to citizens of both countries.
The measure comes 17 years after Caracas broke off diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv, and follows an Israeli humanitarian delegation’s visit to Venezuela after the double earthquake on June 24.
The announcement was made known through a statement from the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry published on X, and was confirmed in parallel by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Venezuelan Foreign Minister, Félix Plasencia González, specified on his account that both governments agreed to continue the bilateral technical cooperation arising from emergency and reconstruction efforts, in addition to creating a mechanism that allows for providing consular services to their respective citizens.
From the Israeli side, the foreign ministry indicated that the understanding was reached after conversations between high-level officials from both countries, following the visit of the humanitarian delegation. Both governments also agreed to highlight the bond between the State of Israel and the Jewish community residing in Venezuela, which they described as a historic bridge of friendship between both countries.
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The immediate origin of the rapprochement dates back to the double earthquake of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 that shook Venezuela on June 24 and left more than 6,300 dead, according to official figures. After the catastrophe, an Israeli delegation arrived in the South American country with the support of the local Jewish community. As reported by the Presidential Press, the team included civil engineers who worked on the evaluation of collapsed structures, the diagnosis of vulnerability in buildings, and the design of contingency plans for emergency management. Also part of the mission was Elad Edri, a senior officer of the Israel Defense Forces, who collaborated in the management of the waste generated by the disaster.
Ambassador Yoed Magen, head of the Israeli delegation, greets a Venezuelan representative during a meeting in Venezuela
In July, the acting president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, had publicly thanked the Israeli delegation for their relief and humanitarian assistance efforts in the country.
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The re-establishment of a consular coordination channel marks a turning point in a bilateral relationship that had been frozen since January 15, 2009, when then-President Hugo Chávez ordered the breaking of “all types of relations” with Israel, one week after expelling the Israeli ambassador in Caracas. The decision was framed within Chavismo’s support for the Palestinian cause. At that time, the Venezuelan Executive also announced that it would insist before the international community that Israeli leaders be reported to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.
Since then, the official Venezuelan discourse has maintained a critical stance toward Israel, with Chávez and his successors repeatedly labeling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “war criminal,” in parallel with constant support for Palestine in international forums.
The agreement announced this week does not imply, for the moment, the formal restoration of full diplomatic relations between both countries, but rather the creation of a technical and consular channel limited to assistance for citizens and cooperation derived from the seismic emergency. Neither Caracas nor Tel Aviv anticipated concrete deadlines for the implementation of the mechanism nor detailed which instances will manage consular procedures in each country.
