javascript is disabled, enable it otherwise the site will not work properly!

javascript est désactivé, activez-le sinon le site ne fonctionnera pas correctement !

Asian Latin Americans

Asian Latin Americans (sometimes Asian-Latinos) are Latin Americans of Asian descent. Asian immigrants to Latin America have largely been from East Asia or West Asia. Historically, Asians in Latin America have a centuries-long history in the region, starting with Filipinos in the 16th century. The peak of Asian immigration occurred in the 19th and 20th centuries. There are currently more than four million Asian Latin Americans, nearly 1% of Latin America's population. Chinese, Japanese, and Lebanese are the largest Asian ancestries; other major ethnic groups include Filipinos, Syrians, Indians, and Koreans. Brazil is home to the largest population of East Asian descent, estimated at 2.08 million. The country is also home to a large percentage of West Asian descendants. With as much as 5% of their population having some degree of Chinese ancestry, Peru and Mexico have the highest ratio of any country for East Asian descent. Though the most recent official census, which relied on self-identification, gave a much lower percentage.

There has been notable emigration from these communities in recent decades, so that there are now hundreds of thousands of people of Asian Latin American origin in both Japan and the United States.

History

The first Asian Latin Americans were Filipinos who made their way to Latin America (primarily to Cuba and Mexico and secondarily to Colombia, Panama and Peru) in the 16th century, as slaves, crew members, and prisoners during the Spanish colonial rule of the Philippines through the Viceroyalty of New Spain, with its capital in Mexico City. For two and a half centuries (between 1565 and 1815) many Filipinos and Chinese sailed on the Manila-Acapulco Galleons, assisting in the Spanish Empire's monopoly in trade. Some of these sailors never returned to the Philippines and many of their descendants can be found in small communities around Baja California, Sonora, Mexico City, Peru and others, thus making Filipinos the oldest Asian ethnic group in Latin America.

While South Asians had been present in various forms in Latin America for centuries by the 1800s, it was in this century that the flow into the region spiked dramatically. This rapid influx of hundreds of thousands of mainly male South Asians was due to the need for indentured servants. This is largely tied to the abolition of black slavery in the Caribbean colonies in 1834. Without the promise of free labor and a hostile working class on their hands, the Dutch colonial authorities had to find a solution – cheap Asian labor.

Many of these immigrant populations became such fixtures in their adopted countries that they acquired names of their own. For example, the Chinese men who labored in agricultural work became known as "coolies". While these imported Asian laborers were initially just replacement for agricultural slave labor, they gradually began to enter other sectors as the economy evolved. Before long, they had entered more urban work and the service sector. In certain areas, these populations assimilated into the minority populations, adding yet another definition to go on a casta.

In some areas, these new populations caused conflict. In Northern Mexico, tensions became inevitable when the United States began to shut off Chinese immigration in the early 1880s. Many who were originally bound for the United States were re-routed to Mexico. The rapid increase in population and rise to middle/upper class standing generated strong resentment among existing residents. These tensions lead to riots. In the state of Sonora, the entire Chinese population was expelled in 1929.

Today, the overwhelming majority of Asian Latin Americans are either of East Asian (namely Chinese, Japanese or Korean), or West Asian descent (mostly the Lebanese or Syrians). Many of whom arrived during the second half of the 1800s and the first half of the 1900s. Japanese migration mostly came to a halt after World War II (with the exception of Japanese settlement in the Dominican Republic), while Korean migration mostly came to an end by the 1980s and Chinese migration remains ongoing in a number of countries.

Settlement of war refugees has been extremely minor: a few dozen ex-North Korean soldiers went to Argentina after the Korean War and some Hmong went to French Guiana after the Vietnam War.

Roles in labor

Asian Latin Americans served various roles during their time as low wage workers in Latin America. In the second half of the nineteenth century, nearly a quarter of a million Chinese migrants in Cuba worked primarily on sugar plantations. The Chinese "coolies" who migrated to Peru took up work on the Andean Railroad or the Guano Fields. Over time the Chinese progressed to acquiring work in urban centers as tradesmen, restaurateurs and in the service industry. By the second decade of the nineteenth century, approximately 25,000 Chinese migrants in Mexico found relative success with small businesses, government bureaucracy, and intellectual circles. In the 1830s, the British and Dutch colonial governments also imported South Asians to work as indentured servants to places such as Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Curaçao and British Guiana (later renamed Guayana). At the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Japanese immigrants reached Brazil and Peru. Much like the Chinese, the Japanese often worked as indentured servants and low wage workers for planters. Japanese work contracts were notably more short term than those of the Chinese and the process was closely monitored by the Japanese government to dissuade abuse and foul play. In both cases, the influx of Asian migrant workers was to fill the void left in the Latin American work forces after the abolition of slavery. Employers of all kinds were desperate for a low cost replacement for their slaves so those who did not participate in any illegal slave operations turned to the Asian migrants.

Geographic distribution

Four and a half million Latin Americans (almost 1% of the total population of Latin America) are of Asian descent. The number may be millions higher, even more so if all who have partial ancestry are included. For example, Asian Peruvians are estimated at 5% of the population there, but one source places the number of all Peruvians with at least some Chinese ancestry at 5 million, which equates to 20% of the country's total population.

The Chinese are the most populous Asian Latin Americans. Significant populations of Chinese ancestry are found in Peru, Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Panama, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Costa Rica (where they make up about 1% of the total population; or about 9,000 residents). Nicaragua is home to 14,000 ethnic Chinese; the majority reside in Managua and on the Caribbean coast. Smaller communities of Chinese, numbering just in the hundreds or thousands, are also found in Ecuador and various other Latin American countries. Many Latin American countries are home to barrios chinos (Chinatowns).

Most who are of Japanese descent reside in Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Mexico, Bolivia, Colombia and Paraguay. Japanese Peruvians have a considerable economic position in Peru. Many past and present Peruvian Cabinet members are ethnic Asians, but most particularly Japanese Peruvians have made up large portions of Peru's cabinet members and former president Alberto Fujimori is of Japanese ancestry who is currently the only Asian Latin American to have ever served as the head of any Latin American nation (or the second, if taking into account Arthur Chung). Brazil is home to the largest Japanese community outside Japan, numbering about 1.7 million with ancestry alone. Brazil is also home to 10,000 Indians, 5,000 Vietnamese, 4,500 Afghans, 2,900 Indonesians and 1,000 Filipinos.

Korean people are the third largest group of Asian Latin Americans. The largest community of this group is in Brazil (specially in Southeast region) with a population of 51,550. The second largest is in Argentina, with a population of 23,603 and with active Koreatowns in Buenos Aires. More 10,000 in Guatemala, and Mexico, This last with active communities in Monterrey, Guadalajara, Coatzacoalcos, Yucatan and Mexico City. More than 1,000 in Chile, Paraguay, Venezuela, Honduras and Peru where Jung Heung-won, a Korean Peruvian, was elected mayor in City of Chanchamayo. He is the first Mayor of Korean origin in Peru and all of Latin America. There are small and important communities (less 1,000 peoples) in Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Panama, Dominican Republic, Uruguay, Puerto Rico and Haiti.

Emigrant communities

Japan

Japanese Brazilian immigrants to Japan numbered 250,000 in 2004, constituting Japan's second-largest immigrant population. Their experiences bear similarities to those of Japanese Peruvian immigrants, who are often relegated to low income jobs typically occupied by foreigners.

United States

In the 2000 US Census, 119,829 Hispanic or Latino Americans identified as being of Asian race alone. In 2006 the Census Bureau's American Community Survey estimated them at 154,694, while its Population Estimates, which are official, put them at 277,704.

Composition

Notable Asian Latino persons

Argentina

Juliana Awada, former First Lady of Argentina, Lebanese Argentine.
Carlos Balá, actor of Lebanese descent.
Yamila Diaz-Rahi, model of Lebanese descent.
Dumbfoundead, rapper Argentine-born Korean American Rapper.
Liu Song, table tennis player; Chinese Argentine.
Ignacio Huang, actor; Taiwanese Argentine.
Hoshitango Imachi, ex-sumo wrestler, Japanese Argentine.
Mario Alberto Ishii, political and mayor of the region José C. Paz, Japanese Argentine.
Natalia Kim, actress and model, Korean Argentine.
Chang Sung Kim, actor, Korean Argentine.
María Kodama, writer of Japanese descent.
Katsutoshi Kurata, martial artist, Japanese Argentine.
Margarita Lee "Señorita Lee"; model, actress and television host; Korean Argentine.
Yoshihiro Matsumura, martial artist, Japanese Argentine.
Carlos Menem, lawyer and politician, former president of Argentina, Syrian Argentine.
Eduardo Menem, politician and brother of Carlos Menem, Syrian Argentine.
Jessica Michibata, fashion model; Japanese Argentine.
Sergio Nakasone producer and TV director, Japanese Argentine.
Leonardo Nam, actor; Korean Argentine.
Jae Park, Korean American singer-songwriter born in Argentina.
Kazuya Sakai, painter, Japanese Argentine.
María Eugenia Suárez, actress and singer; Japanese Argentine.
Alicia Terada, politician, Japanese Argentine.
Marco, actor; Korean Argentine.
Chanty, actress, model and singer; Filipina Argentine

Bolivia

Chi Hyun Chung, politician; Korean Bolivian
Juan Pereda, politician; Palestinian Bolivian
Pedro Shimose, poet; Japanese Bolivian

Brazil

Erica Awano, manga artist; Japanese Brazilian
Suresh Biswas, adventurer; Indo-Brazilian
Ken Chang, singer; Chinese Brazilian
Sérgio Echigo, former footballer; Japanese Brazilian
Boris Fausto, historian, political scientist and writer; Turkish Brazilian
Alexandr Fier, chess grandmaster; Japanese Brazilian
Ashok Gandotra, cricketer; Indo-Brazilian
Kaio Felipe Gonçalves, striker; Japanese Brazilian
Luiz Gushiken, union leader and politician; Japanese Brazilian
Sandro Hiroshi, footballer; Japanese Brazilian
Hugo Hoyama, tennis player; Japanese Brazilian
Fabiane Hukuda, judoka; Japanese Brazilian
Kaisei Ichirō, sumo wrestler; Japanese Brazilian
Thereza Imanishi-Kari, professor; Japanese Brazilian
Ryoki Inoue, writer; Japanese Brazilian
Vânia Ishii, judoka; Japanese Brazilian
Cláudio Kano, table tennis player; Japanese Brazilian
Nathalia Kaur, model and actress; Indian descent
Reishin Kawai, aikido practitioner and acupuncturist; Japanese Brazilian
Pedro Ken, footballer; Japanese Brazilian
Allam Khodair, race car driver; Japanese Lebanese Brazilian
Felipe Kitadai, judoka; Japanese Brazilian
Paulinho Kobayashi, footballer; Japanese Brazilian
Luca Kumahara, table tennis player; Japanese Brazilian
Yanna Lavigne, actress and model; Japanese Brazilian
Iara Lee, producer, director and activist; Korean Brazilian
Gui Lin, table tennis player; Chinese Brazilian
Lovefoxxx, singer; Japanese Brazilian
Manabu Mabe, painter; Japanese Brazilian
Lyoto Machida, mixed martial artist; Japanese Brazilian
Mitsuyo Maeda, judo master and developer of Brazilian jiu-jitsu; Japanese Brazilian
Daniel Matsunaga, model, host, actor and footballer; Japanese Brazilian
Jo Matumoto, former pro baseball player; Japanese Brazilian
Froilano de Mello, microbiologist; Indo-Brazilian
Paulo Miyashiro, triathlete; Japanese Brazilian
Carlos Morimoto, author; Japanese Brazilian
Andrews Nakahara, MMA fighter; Japanese Brazilian
Mariana Ohata, triathlete; Japanese Brazilian
Ruy Ohtake, architect; Japanese Brazilian
Tomie Ohtake, artist; Japanese Brazilian
Oscar Oiwa, painter, visual artist and architect; Japanese Brazilian
Leandro Okabe, model; Japanese Brazilian
Tetsuo Okamoto, swimmer; Japanese Brazilian
Poliana Okimoto, long-distance swimmer and gold medalist; Japanese Brazilian
Pedro Okuda, baseball shortstop; Japanese Brazilian
Luís Onmura, judoka; Japanese Brazilian
Hiroo Onoda, former Japanese Army officer; Japanese Brazilian
Angela Park, golfer; Korean Brazilian
Andy Pi, martial artist; Chinese Brazilian
Rogério Romero, swimmer; Japanese Brazilian
Lucas Salatta, backstroke swimmer; Japanese Brazilian
Silvio Santos, television host and entrepreneur; Turkish Brazilian
Daniella Sarahyba, model; Lebanese descent
Akihiro Sato, model; Japanese Brazilian
Sabrina Sato, model; Japanese and Lebanese descent
Luis Shinohara, former judoka; Japanese Brazilian
Lígia Silva, table tennis player; Japanese Brazilian
Marcos Sugiyama, volleyball player; Japanese Brazilian
Mahau Suguimati, track hurdler; Japanese Brazilian
Jung Mo Sung, lay theologian; Korean Brazilian
Manabu Suzuki, racer; Japanese Brazilian
Rafael Suzuki, racer; Japanese Brazilian
Rodrigo Tabata, footballer; Japanese Brazilian
Marlon Teixeira, model; Japanese Brazilian
Alex Yuwan Tjong, badminton player; Indonesian Brazilian
Geovanna Tominaga, television host and actress; Japanese Brazilian
Gustavo Tsuboi, table tennis player; Japanese Brazilian
Felipe Wu, sport shooter; Chinese Brazilian
Jenifer Widjaja, tennis player; Indonesian Brazilian
Stênio Yamamoto, sports shooter; Japanese Brazilian
Mario Yamasaki, MMA fighter; Japanese Brazilian
Carlos Yoshimura, baseball pitcher; Japanese Brazilian
Marcus Tulio Tanaka, football player; Japanese Brazilian

Chile

Edgardo Abdala, footballer, Palestinian Chilean
Carlos Abumohor, businessman and investor, Palestinian Chilean
Roberto Bishara Adawi, footballer, Palestinian Chilean
Diamela Eltit, writer, Palestinian Chilean
Fernando Chomalí Garib, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Santiago, Palestinian Chilean
Daud Gazale, footballer, Palestinian Chilean
Ricardo Marzuca, professor at Universidad de Chile, Palestinian Chilean
Daniel Jadue, politician, Palestinian Chilean
Sergio Jadue, football executive, Palestinian Chilean
Alfonso Leng, composer; Chinese Chilean
Miguel Littin, movie director and screenwriter, Palestinian Chilean
Luis Musrri, footballer, Palestinian Chilean
Miguel Nasur Allel, businessman and football club owner, Palestinian Chilean
Carlos Ominami, economist and politician; Japanese Chilean
José Said, businessman, Palestinian Chilean
Álvaro Saieh, businessman, Palestinian Chilean
Arturo Salah, former football player, Palestinian Chilean
Fernando Solabarrieta Chelech, journalist, TV presenter, Palestinian Chilean
Rafael Tarud, politician, Palestinian Chilean
José Zalaquett Daher, lawyer, Palestinian Chilean
Marko Zaror, martial artist, actor, Palestinian Chilean

Colombia

Shakira, of partial Lebanese descent
Farina, Colombian rapper and reggaeton singer of Peruvian and Lebanese descent.
Yokoi Kenji, speaker; Japanese Colombian.
José Kaor Dokú, ex-soccer player and ex-military; Japanese Colombian.
Maru Yamayusa, Colombian actress, partial Japanese descent.
Yu Takeuchi, mathematician; Japanese Colombian.
Yuriko Yoshimura, actress and model; Japanese Colombian.
Paublo Ng Choi, Chef, Chinese Colombian.
Laura González, Miss Colombia 2017; Lebanese descent.
Jordy Monroy, footballer, born in Colombia; Armenian origin
Sayaka Osorio, Karateka, Korean Colombian.
Nydia Quintero Turbay, former First Lady of Colombia, Lebanese descent.
Manuel Teodoro, American journalist of Colombian and Filipino descent.
Lisa, Japanese singer-songwriter; Colombian mother

Costa Rica

Franklin Chang-Diaz, former NASA astronaut; Chinese Spanish Costa Rican
Cheng Siu Chung, retired football player, coach; Chinese Costa Rican
Eduardo Li, president of the Costa Rican football federation; Chinese Costa Rican
Harry Shum Jr., actor; Chinese Costa Rican

Cuba

Fulgencio Batista, former President of Cuba; of partial Chinese heritage
Yamil Chade, boxing manager; Lebanese Cuban
Yat-Sen Chang, ballet dancer; Chinese Cuban
Emilio Estefan, musician; Lebanese Cuban
Wifredo Lam, artist; Afro-Chinese-Cuban
Alfredo Abon Lee, army officer; Chinese Cuban
Jeronimo Lim Kim, Korean Cuban known for being a part of the Cuban Revolution

Dominican Republic

Elías Wessin y Wessin, politician; Lebanese Dominican
Wu Xue, table tennis player; Chinese Dominican
Akari Endo, Japanese-Dominican actress
Lian "Jenifer" Qian, Chinese Dominican table tennis player
Jhené Aiko, American singer; Japanese Dominican mother
Mila J, American singer and rapper; Japanese Dominican mother

Ecuador

Li Jian - midfielder; Chinese Ecuadorian
Jinsop, singer; Korean Ecuadorian
Alberto Dahik, politician; Lebanese Ecuadorian
Carlos Moncayo, co-founder and CEO of Asiam; Chinese Ecuadorian
Jaime Nebot, lawyer and former mayor Guayaquil; Lebanese Ecuadorian
Julio Teodoro Salem, politician; Lebanese Ecuadorian

El Salvador

Nayib Bukele, president of El Salvador since 2019; Palestinian descent
Xavier Zablah Bukele, cousin of Nayib and politician; Palestinian descent
Takeshi Fujiwara, sprinter and athlete; Japanese Salvadorean

Guatemala

Myrna Mack, anthropologist; Chinese and Maya descent
Helen Mack Chang, businesswoman and human rights activist; Chinese Guatemalan

Honduras

Rodrigo Wong Arevalo, journalist and TV host; Chinese Honduran
Hajime waki, Musician; Japanese Honduran
Fernando Chin: Salesman, first mayor of La Lima.

Mexico

Alberto Arai, architect, theorist and writer; Japanese Mexican
Eduardo Auyón, artist and cultural promoter; Chinese Mexican
Jesús Chong, boxer; Chinese Mexican
Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong, secretary of the interior of Mexico; Chinese Mexican
Axel Didriksson, writer and professor; Japanese Mexican
Jocelyn Enriquez, singer and songwriter, Filipino Mexican
Ana Gabriel, Mexican singer and composer; Chinese on her mother's side
Zhenli Ye Gon, businessman and alleged drug trafficker; Chinese Mexican
Xóchitl Hamada, pro wrestler; Japanese Mexican
Hiromi Hayakawa, singer; Japanese Mexican
Salma Hayek, actress and producer; Lebanese descent
Gilberto Hirata, state deputy; Japanese Mexican
Tomoki Kameda, undefeated Boxer; Japanese Mexican
Su Muy Key, actress and dancer; Chinese Mexican
Pandurang Sadashiv Khankhoje, revolutionary, scholar, agricultural scientist and historian; Indo-Mexican
Pablo Larios, goalkeeper; Japanese Mexican
Juan Manuel Ley, founder and chairman of Casa Ley; Chinese Mexican
Alejandro Gómez Maganda, politician and former governor of the state of Guerrero; Filipino Mexican
Eizi Matuda, botanist; Japanese Mexican
Lyn May, actress, exotic dancer and acrobat; Chinese Mexican
Patricia Castañeda Miyamoto, swimmer; Japanese Mexican
Daiwon Moon, martial artist; Korean Mexican
Kenya Mori, actress; Japanese Mexican
Noé Murayama, actor; Japanese Mexican
Úrsula Murayama, actress; Japanese Mexican
Fumiko Nakashima, artist; Japanese Mexican
Carlos Nakatani, artist; Japanese Mexican
Isidoro Montes de Oca, revolutionary general; Filipino Mexican
Ramón Fabié, revolutionary soldier; Filipino Mexican
Luis Pinzón, revolutionary soldier; Filipino Mexican
Francisco Mongoy, revolutionary soldier; Filipino Mexican
Kiyoto Ota, sculptor; Japanese Mexican
Sanjaya Rajaram, agronomist; Indo-Mexican
M.N. Roy, nationalist revolutionary, radical activist and political theorist; Indo-Mexican
Catarina de San Juan, the China Poblana; Indo-Mexican
Sugi Sito, pro wrestler; Chinese Mexican
Romeo Villalva Tabuena, painter and printmaker; Filipino Mexican
Nancy Taira, actress; Japanese Mexican
Huang Yiguang, politician and aviator; Chinese Mexican

Nicaragua

Arlen Siu, martyr of the 1979 Sandinista revolution; Chinese Nicaraguan
Zach King, American internet personality, filmmaker, and illusionist; Chinese Nicaraguan

Paraguay

Mario Abdo Benítez, President of Paraguay; Lebanese descent.
Mitsuhide Tsuchida, footballer, Japanese Paraguayan.

Panama

Jorge Cham, web comic creator of Piled Higher and Deeper, Chinese Panamanian.
Bruce Chen, pitcher for the Cleveland Indians, Chinese Panamanian.
Roberto Chen, Panamanian footballer of Chinese descent
Federico Fong, musician, Panamanian-born father of Chinese descent
Marelissa Him, model, part Chinese on her father's side
Shey Ling Him Gordon, Panama's delegate to the Miss World 2007 competition, Chinese Panamanian.
Sigrid Nunez, American writer (Chinese-Panamanian father, German mother)
Mehr Eliezer - Winner of Señorita Panamá 2019, Indian Panamanian.

Peru

Ernesto Arakaki, footballer; Japanese Peruvian
José Antonio Chang, former Prime Minister of Peru; Chinese Peruvian
Alberto Fujimori, President of Peru from 1990 to 2000; Japanese Peruvian
Keiko Fujimori, Congresswoman; Japanese Peruvian
Kenji Fujimori, Congressman; Japanese-Peruvian
Susana Higuchi, politician and engineer; Japanese Peruvian
Jorge Hirano, international football player; Japanese Peruvian
Fernando Iwasaki, writer and historian; Japanese Peruvian
Haruki Kanashiro, goalkeeper; Japanese Peruvian
Elena Keldibekova, volleyball player; Kazakh Peruvian
Valentina Shevchenko, mixed martial artist; Kyrgyz Peruvian
Humberto Lay, architect and cleric; Chinese Peruvian
Iván Miranda, tennis player; Chinese Peruvian
Aldo Miyashiro, artist; Japanese Peruvian
Augusto Miyashiro, engineer and politician; Japanese Peruvian
Kaoru Morioka, futsal player; Japanese Peruvian
Sum Nung, Wing Chun grandmaster; Chinese Peruvian
José Pereda, retired footballer; Japanese Peruvian
Víctor Polay, one of the founders of the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement; Chinese Peruvian
Venancio Shinki, painter; Japanese Peruvian
Hector Takayama, former footballer; Japanese Peruvian
Eduardo Tokeshi, artist; Japanese Peruvian
Tilsa Tsuchiya, artist; Japanese Peruvian
Edwin Vásquez, Olympic shooter; Chinese Peruvian
José Watanabe, poet; Japanese Peruvian
Víctor Joy Way, former Prime Minister of Peru; Chinese Peruvian
Alan Wong, chef; Chinese Peruvian
Erasmo Wong, businessman, owner of various retail chains; Chinese Peruvian
Patty Wong, model; Chinese Peruvian
Ricardo Wong, politician; Chinese Peruvian
Rafael Yamashiro, politician; Japanese Peruvian
César Ychikawa, vocalist; Japanese Peruvian
David Soria Yoshinari, footballer; Japanese Peruvian
Jaime Yoshiyama, politician; Japanese Peruvian
Carlos Yushimito, writer; Japanese Peruvian
Pedro Zulen, philosopher; Chinese Peruvian

Puerto Rico

Aravind Enrique Adyanthaya, writer, performer and theater director; Indo-Puerto Rican
Eduardo Bhatia, politician and senator; Indo-Puerto Rican
Lakshmi Singh, newscaster on NPR
Ruth D. Thorne, author; Indo-Puerto Rican
Bruno Mars, singer, songwriter, record producer, musician and dancer; Filipino and Puerto Rican

Uruguay

Alberto Abdala, Former Vice-president of Uruguay; Lebanese Uruguayan
Barbara Mori, Uruguyan-born Mexican actress; Japanese and Lebanese descent

Venezuela

Fred Armisen, American actor, has Venezuelan roots on his mother and Japanese father's side part; Japanese Venezuelan
Alex Cabrera Suzuki, Venezuelan first baseman and right-handed batter who played in Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball; Japanese Venezuelan
Hana Kobayashi, singer; Japanese Venezuelan
Kamala Lopez, American actress, director, and political activist (born in New York City but raised in Venezuela); Indian Venezuelan
Naomi Soazo, Venezuelan judoka; Japanese Venezuelan
Henry Zakka, Venezuelan actor; Japanese Venezuelan
Tarek William Saab, Prosecutor General of Venezuela and former ombudsman; Lebanese Venezuelan
Tareck El Aissami, former Vice President of Venezuela; Lebanese Venezuelan
Elías Jaua, Minister of Education, former Foreign Minister and Vice President of Venezuela; Lebanese Venezuelan
Mariam Habach, Miss Venezuela 2015; Syrian descent
James Tahhan, Venezuelan chef; Syrian Venezuelan