Alex Carrasquel was the first Venezuelan to play in the Major Leagues, pitching for the Washington Senators from 1939 to 1945. Source.
It's the 2023 Serie del Caribe. For the first time there are eight participating countries: Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Venezuela (host), Cuba and Curaçao. This calls for two baseball stadiums: Estadio La Rinconada in Caracas and Estadio Forum de La Guaira in La Guaira.
The teams are:
For Colombia, Vaqueros de Montería. Last year was the first time a Colombian team won the series.
Cuba sends Agricultores de Los Tunas y Granma. Cuban teams have won the series eight times. Their last appearance was in 2019.
Curaçao is here for the first time. The Dutch island has been home to a AA baseball league since 1975. Wikipedia lists 16 Major League players from Curaçao. And a team from Willemstad, Curaçao won the 2004 Little League World Series. Curaçao is represented by WildCats KJ74 who have won their league 17 times.
The Dominican Republic is represented by Tigres del Licey, the most successful team in the history of this series. Teams from the Dominican Republic have won the Serie del Caribe 21 times in total, Tigres del Licey taking ten pennants, Águilas Cibaeñas six, Leones del Escogido four, and Senadores de San Juan one.
Mexico sends Cañeros de Los Mochis. Mexican teams have won the series nine times, most recently in 2016.
Panama has won twice, in 1950 and 2019. This year's Panamanian entrants are Federales de Chiriquí who make their first appearance in the Serie del Caribe.
Puerto Rican teams have won the series sixteen times, including 2017 and 2018. Cangrejeros de Santurce and Criollos de Caguas have each won five times. This year's Puerto Rican team is Indios de Mayagüez who won the Serie del Caribe in 1978 and 1992.
Venezuelan teams have won it seven times, most recently in 2009. This year they are represented by Leones del Caracas, who won in 1982 and 2006.
Together the eight leagues comprise 51 teams: Mexico's Pacific League has 10, Venezuela's league 8, Curaçao's 7, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Cuba 6 each, and Panama and Colombia 4 each.
[The final game, February 10th: Tigres del Licey 3 - 0 Leones del Caracas]
Previous coverage of the Serie del Caribe in Plenty of Nothing:
2022, when Ciamanes de Barranquilla won;
2021, when Águilas Cibaeñas won;
2020, when Toros del Este won;
2019, when Toros de Herrara won;
2018, when Criollos de Caguas won.