The Department of State is urging Americans to leave Venezuela “immediately,” warning that armed pro-regime militias are attempting to hunt down U.S. citizens in the aftermath of the capture of socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro.
In a security alert issued by the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, officials said the situation on the ground has deteriorated rapidly and poses an extreme danger to Americans still in the country.
U.S. citizens were advised to depart Venezuela immediately by commercial flight and to avoid road travel altogether due to armed groups operating checkpoints.
“Before departure, U.S. citizens should take precautions and be aware of their surroundings,” the State Department warned.
“There are reports of groups of armed militias, known as colectivos, setting up roadblocks and searching vehicles for evidence of U.S. citizenship or support for the United States.”
The alert follows the January 3 operation in which U.S. forces captured Maduro and his wife, who were transported to New York to face narcoterrorism, drug trafficking, and firearms charges.
After the operation, Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, was installed as interim president.
Rodríguez has received backing from President Donald Trump and his administration.
Since Maduro’s arrest, rifle-armed civilian groups have been seen patrolling neighborhoods in Caracas and intimidating individuals believed to support the U.S. intervention, according to reporting cited by U.S. officials.
The State Department continues to list Venezuela at its highest travel advisory level, citing “the high risk of wrongful detention, torture in detention, terrorism, kidnapping, arbitrary enforcement of local laws, crime, civil unrest, and poor health infrastructure.”
The department also warned that American citizens face an especially severe risk of being detained without due process.
U.S. nationals have been held for years at a time, according to the alert.
“According to former detainees, as well as independent human rights organizations, detainees have been subjected to torture and cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment,” the department said.
The alert also cited reports of severe beatings, prolonged stress positions, and waterboarding.
In response, Venezuela’s foreign ministry dismissed the U.S. warning as baseless, claiming it was “based on fabricated accounts aimed at creating a perception of risk that does not exist.”
“Venezuela is in absolute calm, peace, and stability,” the ministry claimed in a social media statement, insisting that all security forces and weapons remain under the control of the state.
The U.S. government withdrew all diplomatic personnel from the Caracas embassy in March 2019 and suspended operations amid escalating instability and threats to American personnel.
Despite the ongoing danger, President Trump announced Friday that he had called off a previously expected second wave of U.S. strikes on Venezuela, saying the interim government is now “working well” with the United States on rebuilding oil and gas infrastructure and releasing “large numbers” of political prisoners.
Trump also said his administration is considering reopening the U.S. embassy in Venezuela, with preliminary steps reportedly underway, a move that would hinge on sustained improvements in security conditions and cooperation from the new leadership.
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