Caracas, June 8, 2026 (Lusa) - Five months after the US military operation that captured Venezuela´s President Nicolás Maduro, Portuguese citizens living in Venezuela have a positive outlook on the country's future, the Portuguese ambassador in Caracas told Lusa.
"Everyone I've spoken to shows hope; they have a positive perspective on the near future of this country, a sentiment that they share with Venezuelan society in general," said the diplomat.
Frederico Silva explained that "Venezuela has all the ingredients to have a thriving, diversified economy."
"Our community here is deeply integrated, active in so many centres of activity, and views the development of this process positively and hopefully. The Embassy is and always will be by their side, for everything that is possible, useful and necessary; to support them in this new moment for Venezuela, just as it has always been here at any other time," he added.
Silva said he arrived in Venezuela about two and a half months ago, a period he assessed as "fascinating and fruitful in events, contacts, and promising in terms of planning the work to come."
"There have been several official visits from Portugal, notably that of the Secretary of State for Portuguese Communities [Emídio Sousa], with whom I carried out a programme of contacts with the Portuguese community in Valencia, Los Teques, Maracay, and Caracas, which culminated, more recently, in the presentation of my credentials, accrediting me as ambassador, to the interim president, Delcy Rodríguez," he said.
Silva also said that "many issues have already been addressed and many are on the priority list for the near future," related to "cultural cooperation, the teaching of the Portuguese language, and the economic and business sectors."
"Venezuela is experiencing a new phase, as is well known. There is a trend towards redefining parameters, also linked to economic activity. Naturally, Portugal and its business network, which is well established in many South American countries (...), are ready to contribute, also in the economic and business sphere, to a panorama that we hope will be more progressive, more open, with legal security, in the business environment," he said.
This contribution, he added, relies "on the very powerful support of Portuguese and Portuguese-descendant companies" that exist in Venezuela, "with great recognition in the areas in which they operate."
He said that he has already visited six Venezuelan states, "an immense country, so rich in diversity," where "lives a very special [Portuguese] community, highly integrated, which deserves recognition, affection and genuine friendship" that he was able to witness.
"A vibrant community, with an associative organisation that extends throughout the territory, and with a great deal of talent. Whether in Puerto Ordaz and Ciudad Bolívar, in the state of Bolivar, in Mérida, in Los Teques, in Valencia and Maracay, I found our compatriots, their children and grandchildren, who are very strongly an integral part of this society and contribute greatly to it," he said.
The ambassador also noted that, since the Portuguese are so integrated, "naturally there are also members of this community who are active in the public sphere, and in the judicial, academic, institutional and general areas."
"And that is always a pleasing factor. In fact, it is important to be present on all the stages that are important for the life of a nation, for the life of a State like Venezuela," he stressed.
"The community is highly valued for its commitment, seriousness, and the values it brings to the professional and social spheres. It is culturally and sociologically integrated in a way that perhaps no other community has achieved; it will therefore always be one of the pillars of Portugal's feelings towards Venezuela," he added.
For Portugal, "Venezuela is not just any country. It is a country that evokes great affection, care, and attention, largely because it has this vibrant community of which it is so proud."
FPG/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
