In an escalation of diplomatic tensions, the US and Venezuela have issued reciprocal travel warnings, urging their citizens to avoid travelling to each other’s countries. The US cited the growing risk of Americans being wrongfully detained, while Venezuela accused Washington of human rights abuse of its citizens.
The US State Department has issued its highest-level travel advisory for Venezuela, level-4: Do Not Travel. The warning states that ‘U.S. citizens in Venezuela face a significant and growing risk of wrongful detention’. The US has had no embassy or consular representation in Caracas since 2019, when all diplomatic staff were withdrawn and embassy operations suspended, effectively leaving US citizens without consular support.
U.S. citizens should not travel to Venezuela for any reason and should avoid Venezuelan borders with Colombia, Brazil, and Guyana. Venezuela has the highest Travel Advisory level – Level 4: Do Not Travel – due to severe risks to Americans including wrongful detention, torture in… pic.twitter.com/V8HK0ElUYi
— Travel – State Dept (@TravelGov) May 27, 2025
The advisory cites a series of serious threats, including ‘wrongful detention, torture in detention, terrorism, kidnapping, unfair law enforcement practices, violent crime, civil unrest, and inadequate healthcare’. According to the State Department, Americans detained in Venezuela are often denied access to family members or legal counsel. Most cases are never even brought to the attention of the US, which, due to the lack of diplomatic presence, can anyway not provide any legal or medical assistance.
The Department also notes that some Americans have been held for up to five years without due process and in harsh conditions, reportedly for the sole offence of carrying a US passport. It emphasised there are currently more US citizens detained in Venezuela ‘than in any other country’, though no figures are provided.
One American held in Venezuela was freed in May and others were released in January.
The warning further stresses that Americans who have families in Venezuela are equally at risk continues the statement. Dual citizenship, a visa, a job or previous travel to Venezuela offers no protection from potential arrest.
In bold letter, the statement concludes ‘Do not travel to Venezuela for any reason’ urging those in the country to leave immediately and advising travellers in neighbouring countries to avoid Venezuela’s borders with Colombia, Brazil, and Guyana.
ÚLTIMA HORA | Estados Unidos emite alerta a sus ciudadanos y les pide no viajar por ningún motivo a Venezuela: "Enfrentan riesgo significativo de detención injusta".
— AlbertoRodNews (@AlbertoRodNews) May 27, 2025
"Necesitamos asegurarnos de que ningún otro estadounidense caiga en esta trampa" https://t.co/qAorYOdHfE pic.twitter.com/nYlBHH1vEG
Additional official guidance on the Department’s website recommends that anyone considering travel prepare a will and set up emergency communication plans with family, including measures in case of kidnapping.
A former travel alert issued on 12 May already warned of the risks of travelling to the country, noting that violent crimes are ‘common in Venezuela’ and denouncing brutal crackdowns by ‘police and security forces on pro-democracy or anti-regime demonstrations’, citing the use of tear gas, pepper spray, and rubber bullets on the protesters.
The Travel Advisory for Venezuela has been reissued to emphasize the extreme danger to U.S. citizens living in or traveling to Venezuela. Do not travel to or remain in Venezuela due to the high risk of wrongful detention, torture in detention, terrorism, kidnapping, arbitrary… pic.twitter.com/umVxzKJB6Y
— Travel – State Dept (@TravelGov) May 12, 2025
Venezuela has responded with a travel warning of its own. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil posted a message on Telegram claiming that ‘Venezuelans in the United States are victims of a systematic pattern of abuses of their human rights, being arbitrarily detained, separated from their families and transported to concentration camps in third countries’. He called on Venezuelan citizens living in the US to leave the country.
Venezuela has also condemned US President Donald Trump’s use of a 1798 law to deport hundreds of migrants from America straight to El Salvador’s most notorious prison. The US Supreme Court recently upheld a block on the use of that law, ruling that the administration had failed to provide adequate legal procedures.
