The United States cautioned its citizens not to travel to Venezuela as the security situation there "remains fluid." The US Department of State Consular Affairs said on Saturday, "As international flights have resumed, US citizens in Venezuela should leave the country immediately."
US citizens in Venezuela should "remain vigilant and exercise caution when traveling by road," the department stated in its statement shared on X.
"All consular services in Venezuela, routine and emergency, remain suspended. The US government continues to be unable to provide emergency services to US citizens in Venezuela," it added.
It stated that Venezuela has the highest Travel Advisory level – Level 4: Do Not Travel – "due to severe risks to Americans, including wrongful detention, torture in detention, terrorism, kidnapping, arbitrary enforcement of local laws, crime, civil unrest, and poor health infrastructure."
The department noted that intermittent power and utility outages continue throughout Venezuela.
US President Donald Trump’s administration is seeking to take control of Venezuela’s oil industry after capturing the country’s president, Nicolas Maduro, and bringing him to the US to face criminal charges.
The US president has since exhorted companies such as Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips to invest a combined $100 billion in the country to revive its oil infrastructurem, Reuters reported.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Reuters that nearly $5 billion in Venezuela’s monetary assets at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), known as special drawing rights, could be used to help rebuild the nation’s economy.
He reportedly plans to meet with the heads of the IMF and the World Bank next week to discuss re-engaging with Venezuela.
The US Treasury chief also claimed in an exclusive interview with Reuters that additional US sanctions on Venezuela could be lifted as soon as next week to facilitate oil sales.
"We're de-sanctioning the oil that's going to be sold," Bessent said during a visit to a Winnebago Industries engineering facility. The Treasury was examining changes that would facilitate the repatriation of sale proceeds of the oil stored largely on ships back to Venezuela.
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