MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

French nationals advised not to travel to Venezuela

In addition to the Bolivarian regime forces, travelers need to look out for Colombian terrorist groups in neighboring countries

French citizens have been urged to avoid all travel to Venezuela whenever possible after the arrest of three US nationals, two Spaniards and one Czech national said to be plotting to assassinate President Nicolás Maduro with the endorsement of the CIA.

A travel advisory published Sunday also suggested French citizens already in Venezuela stay away from political demonstrations or meetings and avoid making any public statements about the political situation in the country due to a “resurgence of tensions” following the 28 June controversial elections.

Despite announcements that Maduro had won, the European Union (EU) and many other countries have not recognized these results while others even claimed that opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia had prevailed, as per data released by the Democratic Unitarian Platform (PUD) when the Chavista regime has failed to produce any document backing up its victory claims.

Amid these fraud allegations, Venezuelan authorities announced during the weekend the arrest of six foreign nationals. In addition, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello claimed that the detainees had “contacted French mercenaries” to carry out their plans.

While González Urrutia has sought asylum in Spain, other countries, such as Australia, have similar recommendations against visiting the South American country because the ”political and economic situation continues to be unstable.“ The Australian government's website also warns of possible ”shortages of food, water, medicine and petrol.“

The US State Department also mentions ”wrongful detentions, terrorism, and poor health infrastructure“ as deterrents to those making travel arrangements. Washington has no diplomatic mission in Caracas or elsewhere in the country since 2019, and most other Western nations are gradually fleeing Venezuela, particularly after the electoral fraud and Maduro's intentions to remain in power no matter what.

”The US government cannot provide emergency services to US citizens in Venezuela,“ Washington recalled. ”Violent crimes, such as homicide, armed robbery, kidnapping, and carjacking, are common in Venezuela,“ the State Department's webpage also underlines. Consistent with Australia's warnings, the US government says that ”shortages of gasoline, electricity, water, medicine, and medical supplies continue throughout much of Venezuela,“ where US nationals are in danger of wrongful detentions ”for up to five years.“ In addition, the US government ”is not generally notified of the detention of US citizens in Venezuela or granted access to US citizen prisoners there.“

Last but not least, ”Colombian terrorist groups operate in Venezuela’s border areas with Colombia, Brazil, and Guyana.”