The US has urged its citizens to leave Venezuela immediately amid reports that armed paramilitaries are trying to track down US citizens, one week after the abduction of then-Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro.
In a security alert sent out on Saturday, the US Department of State said there were reports of armed members of pro-regime militias, known as colectivos, setting up roadblocks and searching vehicles for evidence that the occupants were US citizens or supporters of the country.
“US citizens in Venezuela should remain vigilant and exercise caution when traveling by road,” the alert added, urging citizens to depart immediately now that some international flights from Venezuela have restarted.
Photo: Reuters
Speaking to the New York Times last week, US President Donald Trump said he would like to visit Venezuela after having claimed the US was “running” the South American country after removing its leaders with a deadly night-time assault on Caracas.
However, the department alert exposed how volatile the situation remains after the US special forces raid, during which scores of people were killed.
While many Venezuelan opponents of Maduro have celebrated his capture by the US, government supporters have taken to the streets to denounce his rendition as an imperialist act of aggression.
The Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the US Department of State’s warning 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 Venezuelan ministry said. “All populated centers, communication routes, checkpoints, and security devices are functioning normally, and all weapons of the Republic are under the control of the Bolivarian Government, the sole guarantor of the legitimate monopoly of force and the tranquility of the Venezuelan people.”
Reporters and activists in Caracas have seen rifle-carrying members of the colectivos roaming the city on motorbikes and setting up checkpoints. The roads connecting Caracas to its western border are policed with dozens of military and police checkpoints.
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