A US Navy sailor has been detained in Venezuela for an unclear reason, but the situation did arise amid ongoing turmoil between Washington and Caracas stemming from a July presidential election.
A United States Navy sailor is being detained in Venezuela after traveling to the country while on personal leave, and without authorization from military authorities, officials said.
White House National Security Spokesperson John Kirby confirmed the detainment of the sailor during a news briefing.
“My understanding was that this individual was on some sort of personal travel and not on official government business,” Kirby said. “We’re obviously in touch, as appropriate as you’d think we would be, with Venezuelan authorities to try and get more knowledge and information about this.”
The State Department also announced that it is closely following the detention.
It remains unclear why the sailor was detained, but this situation coincides with continuous turmoil between Washington and Caracas, the capital of Venezuela.
Edmundo González accused of conspiracy in Venezuelan presidential election
Venezuela’s attorney general’s office announced on Monday that a court issued an arrest warrant for opposition leader Edmundo González, Reuters reported.
González is being accused of conspiracy and other crimes amid a disagreement over whether he or Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro won a July election, according to the outlet. Western countries and international bodies like a United Nations panel of experts challenged the transparency of the election, with some even accusing Maduro’s administration of fraud.
“González … won the most votes in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election, and this arbitrary and politically motivated action is a low point in Nicolás Maduro’s ruthless pursuit of his political opponents following his attempts to steal the July 28 presidential election,” the State Department said in a statement, per the Washington Post.
The arrest warrant was issued hours after President Joe Biden’s administration said an aircraft used by Maduro was confiscated in the Dominican Republic due to its purchase violating U.S. sanctions, Reuters reported. The Venezuelan government called Biden’s actions “piracy.”
State Department continues to warn US citizens about traveling to Venezuela
The State Department has warned U.S. citizens about traveling to Venezuela for years due to “violent crimes, such as homicide, armed robbery, kidnapping, and carjacking” being common in the country.
“The Department has determined there is a high risk of wrongful detention of U.S. nationals in Venezuela. Security forces have detained U.S. citizens for up to five years. The U.S. government is not generally notified of the detention of U.S. citizens in Venezuela or granted access to U.S. citizen prisoners there.”
Anti-Maduro demonstrations have “elicited a strong police and security force response, including the use of tear gas, pepper spray, and rubber bullets against participants, and occasionally devolve into looting and vandalism,” according to the State Department. The country is also facing shortages of gasoline, electricity, water, medicine and medical supplies.
Contributing: Reuters