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State Department warns U.S. citizens against travel to Venezuela; spokesperson reiterates limits on funding to Maduro and notes Chevron license expiration
Summary
The State Department issued a security alert urging Americans not to travel to Venezuela because of wrongful detentions; the briefing also referenced a Chevron license that expires at 11:59 p.m. and reiterated that the U.S. will not permit funds that would assist the Maduro regime.
The State Department opened its briefing with a travel warning for U.S. citizens about Venezuela, saying Americans risk “being wrongfully detained in prison for months or even years” and noting that “more U.S. nationals are currently wrongfully detained in Venezuela than in any other country,” according to the spokesperson.
Reporters asked for a precise number of wrongfully detained Americans; the spokesperson declined to provide exact figures, saying those numbers are a dynamic part of diplomacy and national security and therefore would not be shared publicly.
The briefing later covered U.S. policy toward Venezuela’s oil sector: reporters raised a question about the expiration of a Chevron license and whether the administration planned to extend it. The spokesperson corrected a reporter’s timeline and said the license would expire “tonight at 11:59,” and reiterated that the administration would not allow money to flow to Nicolás Maduro’s regime that could be used to oppress Venezuelans. “We will not allow any money to move to the Maduro regime that assists their regime,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson also emphasized ongoing efforts to secure the release of U.S. citizens wrongfully detained in Venezuela and said the administration has taken steps to terminate “Biden‑era oil and gas licenses that benefited Maduro’s regime.” The State Department framed restrictions on funds to the regime as continuing policy and tied them to broader diplomatic pressure to secure detainee releases.
The department did not announce a change in sanctions or licensing beyond the statements above and declined to provide additional operational details about the Chevron license at the briefing.
