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    • US Navy sailor arrested in Venezuela for unknown reason, officials say
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    US Navy sailor arrested in Venezuela for unknown reason, officials say

    Eira Gwyneth Posted on

    A US Navy sailor was arrested in Venezuela for unclear reasons. However, the arrest comes against the backdrop of ongoing unrest between Washington and Caracas over the presidential elections in July.

    A U.S. Navy sailor is being detained in Venezuela after entering the country while on personal leave and without authorization from military authorities, officials said.

    White House national security spokesman John Kirby confirmed the sailor’s arrest during a press conference.

    “To my knowledge, this individual was on a private trip and not on official government business,” Kirby said. “We are, of course, as one would hope, in contact with the Venezuelan authorities to obtain more intelligence and information on this matter.”

    The Foreign Ministry also said it was closely monitoring the arrest.

    The reason for the sailor’s arrest is still unclear, but the situation coincides with ongoing unrest between Washington and Caracas, the capital of Venezuela.

    Edmundo González is accused of conspiracy in the Venezuelan presidential election

    Venezuela’s Attorney General’s Office announced on Monday that a court had issued an arrest warrant for opposition leader Edmundo González, Reuters reported.

    González is accused of conspiracy and other crimes because of disagreement over whether he or Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro won the July election, the source said. Western countries and international bodies such as a United Nations panel of experts questioned the transparency of the election, and some even accused Maduro’s government of electoral fraud.

    “González … won the most votes in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election, and this arbitrary and politically motivated action marks a low point in Nicolás Maduro’s ruthless persecution of his political opponents following his attempts to rig the July 28 presidential election,” the State Department said in a statement, according to the Washington Post.

    The arrest warrant was issued hours after President Joe Biden’s administration said a plane used by Maduro had been seized in the Dominican Republic because its purchase violated U.S. sanctions, Reuters reported. The Venezuelan government called Biden’s actions “piracy.”

    State Department continues to warn US citizens against traveling to Venezuela

    The State Department has been warning U.S. citizens for years against traveling to Venezuela because of the country’s high frequency of “violent crimes, including murder, armed robbery, kidnapping, and car theft.”

    “The Department has concluded that there is a high risk that U.S. citizens are being unlawfully detained in Venezuela. Security forces detain U.S. citizens for up to five years. The U.S. government is generally not informed of the detention of U.S. citizens in Venezuela and is not granted access to U.S. citizens detained there.”

    The demonstrations against Maduro have “provoked a strong reaction from the police and security forces, including the use of tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets against participants, and there have been occasional acts of looting and vandalism,” the Foreign Ministry said. The country is also suffering from shortages of gasoline, electricity, water, medicines and medical supplies.

    Contributors: Reuters

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    Eira Gwyneth
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