Venezuela and Israel Restore Consular Ties After 17-Year Break

CARACAS, Venezuela —

Venezuela and Israel said Tuesday they will restore consular relations after a 17-year break, a modest but significant step toward mending ties that collapsed in 2009 when then-President Hugo Chávez severed them over Israel's military offensive in Gaza.

The agreement falls short of restoring full diplomatic relations. It sets up a joint mechanism so each country can provide consular services to its citizens living in the other, according to a joint statement summarized by Venezuela's foreign minister, Félix Plasencia. The statement said the two governments would continue technical cooperation that began after twin earthquakes struck Venezuela, and it credited that work with rebuilding trust between the two countries. It also pointed to the historic bond between Israel and Venezuela's Jewish community as "an important bridge of friendship" between the two nations.

Israel's foreign minister, Gideon Saar, said the deal creates "an official channel of coordination" between the two countries, according to El País. Israel's foreign ministry said the agreement followed weeks of talks between Saar and Plasencia, South China Morning Post reported.

From earthquake aid to a diplomatic thaw

Israel sent a disaster response team to Venezuela in June after twin earthquakes killed thousands of people, according to South China Morning Post. Interim President Delcy Rodríguez met with Israeli military officers during that mission and gave them medals, a gesture that drew angry reactions on social media from hardline supporters of the late chavista movement, El País reported. As recently as October, while Nicolás Maduro was still in power, Rodríguez had joined the government in condemning Israel's invasion of Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of people since 2023.

Chávez broke ties with Israel in 2009 after declaring on television, "Maldito seas, Estado de Israel" ("Damn you, State of Israel"), a line that circulated widely again this week, according to El País. Palestine still maintains an embassy in Caracas along with murals and monuments supporting its cause.

A broader regional pivot

The consular deal followed the United States' abduction of Maduro in a January military raid that installed Rodríguez, who has since aligned closely with President Donald Trump's administration and distanced Venezuela from its former ally Cuba, Al Jazeera reported. Venezuela withdrew from the International Criminal Court in July, citing what it called bias against the Global South.

Venezuela's foreign ministry also sent protest notes to Iran, once chavismo's closest partner, over what it called disrespectful remarks about Venezuelan institutions, El País reported. Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, had said in an interview that "Iran is not Venezuela," an apparent reference to the operation that toppled Maduro.

The shift came a day after Colombia's new president, Abelardo de la Espriella, recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, the Syrian territory Israel has occupied since 1967 and annexed in the 1980s, a move that broke with international consensus, according to El País. Chile and Honduras restored their ambassadors to Israel last week, and Argentina has said it will move its embassy to Jerusalem, Al Jazeera reported.