Portuguese Venezuelans

Portuguese Venezuelans (or Luso-Venezuelans) are Portuguese-born citizens with Venezuelan citizenship or Venezuelan-born citizens of Portuguese ancestry or citizenship. Mostly located in Caracas, Valencia and Maracaibo, also Barquisimeto, the Portuguese community of Venezuela are among the largest ethnic groups in the country. The State of Portuguesa takes its name from the Portuguesa River, in which a Portuguese woman is said to have drowned.

Portuguese arrived to Venezuela in the early and middle 20th century, as immigrants, mostly from Madeira Island. Venezuela has the second largest Portuguese diaspora in America, after Brazil. There is strong interest among a large segment of the Portuguese in Venezuela to preserve the culture and familial bond with the old country Portugal, while they have been important in the development of Venezuela holding a substantial number of businesses in the retail trade. The Portuguese language in Venezuela influences Venezuelan Spanish with some neologisms and loanwords.