A U.S. Navy sailor has been detained in Venezuela since Friday, Aug. 30, four U.S. officials told CNN.
The sailor is being held in Caracas by the Venezuelan intelligence agency SEBIN, officials told CNN.
"We are aware of reports that a U.S. Navy Sailor was detained on or about Aug. 30, 2024, by Venezuelan law enforcement authorities while on personal travel to Venezuela," a defense official told CNN. "The U.S. Navy is looking into this and working closely with the State Department."
A State Department spokesman said they aware of reports of a man being detained in Venezuela, CNN reported. Another defense official told CNN the service member was not on official travel or approved leave when he went to Venezuela.
The State Department's website warns Americans against traveling to Venezuela, designating it a Level 4 risk, its highest level.
"Do not travel to Venezuela due to crime, civil unrest, kidnapping, and the arbitrary enforcement of local laws," the State Department warning says. "Reconsider travel due to wrongful detentions, terrorism and poor health infrastructure."
The detention comes after the United States seized a plane used by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and flew it from the Dominican Republic to Florida after determining that its purchase violated U.S. sanctions, the U.S. Justice Department said Monday.
The seizure of the aircraft came amid continuing pressure on Maduro at home and abroad over a contested July 28 election that he claimed to have won, while the opposition said its vote tallies showed its candidate to have soundly defeated him.
Maduro, his associates and the OPEC member-state's vital oil sector are under heavy U.S. sanctions, and his handling of the election has raised the prospects that further measures could be imposed.
-Information from the Associated Press was used in this report
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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