Antisemitism in Venezuela has occurred throughout the history of the Jews in Venezuela.[1] However, under the presidencies of both Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro, allegations of antisemitism grew following actions and statements by the Venezuelan government, while also occurring in public incidents.[2][3][4][5][6][7] The Bolivarian government would also use the words of "Jewish" and "Zionist" interchangeably in order to avoid accusations of antisemitism.[8]
The Jewish population also declined rapidly under the Bolivarian government according to the Algemeiner Journal, with an estimated population of 22,000 in 1999, falling to under 7,000 in 2015.[9][10] Though specific leaders have used antisemitic language, Venezuela's broader history of antisemitism is not large or unusual.[9]