The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday warned the public against traveling to Venezuela unless necessary, citing a fresh political crisis in the South American country.
“We are advising Taiwanese nationals not to travel to Venezuela for the time being and urging those who need to go there to exercise extreme caution and avoid crowded places,” the ministry said.
It said all Taiwanese expatriates in Venezuela were safe.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
The ministry last month issued an “orange” travel warning, its second highest, for Venezuela after political turmoil in that country intensified.
However, the ministry has not raised the alert level to “red,” the highest level.
Under a four-color system, the lowest threat level is gray, followed by yellow, orange and red. An orange advisory urges travelers to exercise caution and to avoid traveling to the affected areas if possible, while a red alert advises people to refrain from traveling to the region in question.
The ministry reminder yesterday followed a fresh development the previous day, when the head of Venezuela’s opposition-controlled legislature declared himself interim leader of the country.
His move prompted tens of thousands of protesters to take to the streets in the capital, Caracas, in demonstrations against or in support of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
“We will continue to closely monitor the situation in Venezuela and post information on the Bureau of Consular Affairs Web site about the latest developments and when the travel warning might be lifted,” ministry spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) said.
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