Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry issues a maximum travel alert, urging citizens to avoid the United States and calling attention to arbitrary detentions, institutional hypocrisy, and deadly racism targeting Venezuelan migrants.

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Venezuela Issues Travel Alert for the United States, Denouncing Systematic Persecution of Venezuelan Citizens on US Soil

The Bolivarian government, through the Ministry of Popular Power for Foreign Affairs, has issued a maximum travel alert for all Venezuelan citizens, warning of the grave dangers they face in the United States. This unprecedented warning, delivered via an official video statement, urges those considering travel to the U.S. to “cancel their plans immediately” and those already residing there to “consider leaving at once.”

Overwhelming Evidence of Persecution and Human Rights Violations

In the official declaration, the Ministry describes the United States as a country where “human rights do not exist for migrants.” The spokesperson highlighted “overwhelming evidence” of systematic persecution, citing the case of more than 250 Venezuelans currently detained in what the Ministry calls “concentration camps” in El Salvador.

These individuals, according to the statement, are held under inhumane conditions—deprived of medical care and adequate food, subjected to psychological torture, and facing illegal deportations. The Ministry denounced the use of these innocent Venezuelans as “hostages” by the U.S. and Venezuelan far-right to blackmail national institutions, calling the U.S. system’s xenophobia “increasingly criminal.”

The travel alert underscores the traumatic impact of U.S. immigration policies, referencing the case of Maikelys Antonella Espinoza Bernal, a Venezuelan child “torn from her family’s arms by U.S. authorities as part of their criminal policy of family separation.” The Ministry goes further, labeling these practices as “State terrorism”.

It warns that being Latino, Afro-descendant, or Venezuelan in the U.S. is “a risk of death,” citing daily mass shootings and police violence that disproportionately target minorities. “The police shoot first and ask questions later,” the statement asserts, adding that xenophobic laws make Venezuelans easy targets for hate.

The Ministry’s spokesperson condemned what it called the “institutional hypocrisy” of the U.S. government, accusing the State Department of lying about Venezuela while concealing its own atrocities. “They talk about kidnappings, but they steal children at the border. They accuse us of arbitrariness, but they lock thousands in cages,” the statement said.

The text reads: #Statement 📢 The Bolivarian Government of Venezuela, through the Ministry of Popular Power for Foreign Affairs, issues a maximum travel alert for all Venezuelan compatriots.

The Ministry called out the U.S. for violating both international norms and its own laws, in alliance with the “failed Venezuelan far-right.” The alert concludes with a call to action: “If you are in the United States, protect your life and your family,return to your homeland. If you plan to travel, don’t do it. There is no American dream, only nightmares.”

New Alert Reinforces Previous Warnings from Foreign Minister Yván Gil

This maximum alert comes just days after Foreign Minister Yván Gil issued a similar travel warning earlier in the week, underscoring the seriousness with which the Venezuelan government views the situation. In his previous statement, Gil called the U.S. travel alert part of a “permanent campaign of aggression” against Venezuela, and highlighted the rollback of protections for Venezuelan migrants, such as the annulment of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and humanitarian parole.

Gil’s earlier message also urged Venezuelans residing in the U.S. to consider leaving immediately, citing a systematic pattern of human rights violations, arbitrary detentions, and forced transfers to detention centers in third countries.

The text reads: Venezuela issues a Travel Alert for all Venezuelan citizens, advising against any travel to the United States of America. Likewise, we urge Venezuelan citizens currently residing in U.S. territory to consider leaving that country.
This alert is issued because today, Venezuelans in the U.S. are victims of a systematic pattern of human rights violations, including arbitrary detention, separation from their families, and transfer to concentration camps in third countries—practices that are unacceptable and reminiscent of the darkest chapters of contemporary history.
Added to this is the use of migratory blackmail and the criminalization of our people in the cruelest xenophobic operation known on our continent, promoted by far-right elements from both Venezuela and the United States.

The declaration closes by reaffirming the unwavering support of the Bolivarian government and President Nicolás Maduro for all Venezuelans, both at home and abroad. It urges citizens to share the message widely, emphasizing the government’s duty to denounce these realities and demand respect for Venezuelan migrants worldwide.

This maximum travel alert not only reflects the Venezuelan government’s commitment to protecting its citizens but also lays bare the ideological and diplomatic rift with Washington. It is a call for international solidarity and vigilance in defense of migrant rights amid growing hostility and systemic abuse.

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