Venezuela Travel Information

Do not travel to Venezuela due to crime, civil unrest, poor health infrastructure, kidnapping, arbitrary arrest and detention of U.S. citizens, and COVID-19.

Read the Department of State’s COVID-19 page before you plan any international travel.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Level 4 Travel Health Notice for Venezuela due to COVID-19 and a Level 4 Travel Health Notice for Venezuela due to Health Infrastructure Breakdown.

Visit the Venezuela Affairs Unit’s COVID-19 page for more information on COVID-19 in Venezuela.

Country Summary: On March 11, 2019, the U.S. Department of State announced the withdrawal of diplomatic personnel from U.S. Embassy Caracas. All consular services, routine and emergency, are suspended until further notice. The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in Venezuela. U.S. citizens in Venezuela who require consular services should try to leave the country as soon as safely possible and contact a U.S. embassy or consulate in a neighboring country.

Violent crime, such as homicide, armed robbery, kidnapping, and carjacking, is common. Political rallies and demonstrations occur, often with little notice. Demonstrations typically elicit a strong police and security force response that includes the use of tear gas, pepper spray, water cannons, and rubber bullets against participants and occasionally devolve into looting and vandalism. The United Nations Human Rights Council’s Fact-Finding Mission reported that the regime has engaged in thousands of extrajudicial killings.

There are shortages of food, electricity, water, medicine, and medical supplies throughout much of Venezuela. The CDC issued a Level 3 ‘Avoid Nonessential Travel’ notice on May 15, 2018 due to inadequate healthcare and the breakdown of the medical infrastructure in Venezuela.

Consular access to detained U.S. citizens is severely restricted and the U.S. government is highly unlikely to be granted access. Security forces have arbitrarily detained U.S. citizens for long periods. Venezuelan authorities may not notify the U.S. government of the detention of a U.S. citizen

Planning a trip to Venezuela?