美国国务院周二透露，委内瑞拉关押的美国人比其他任何国家都多，此后，美国国务院正加大努力劝阻美国人前往委内瑞拉。
“委内瑞拉监狱中关押的美国公民比任何其他国家都多，”特朗普政府负责人质解救的总统特使亚当·布勒(Adam Boehler)说。
“这些人没有做错任何事，”他继续说道。“他们唯一的问题是他们是美国人。仅仅因为这个原因，委内瑞拉接收的美国人比其他任何国家都多。”
虽然美国国务院没有透露有多少美国公民在委内瑞拉被关押，但已知至少有八名美国人被拘留在该国。
自2019年2月以来，美国国务院已将委内瑞拉列入最严厉的旅行建议“第4级:不要旅行”。但周二，美国驻哥伦比亚、圭亚那、巴西和阿鲁巴的大使馆以及国务院委内瑞拉事务部门再次发出警告，试图让更多的美国人了解情况。
“美国人前往委内瑞拉没有安全的途径，”美国国务院发言人说。“美国公民、双重国籍人士和合法永久居民应不惜一切代价避免前往委内瑞拉。没有一次旅行值得自由的代价。”
美国人经常和爱人或伴侣的家人一起去委内瑞拉，或者去看望他们。然而，这些亲人面临着与他们的美国联系人相似的风险。
“美国公民的家庭成员和伴侣经常与美国旅行者一起被拘留。访问委内瑞拉会让其他人面临风险，”这位官员补充道。
美国国务院还警告美国公民，在某些情况下，即使靠近委内瑞拉边境，也会被该国政府拘留。
这就是发生在37岁的美国和法国双重国籍公民卢卡斯·亨特身上的事情，他今年1月在哥伦比亚进行帆板运动时被委内瑞拉政府抓获。
亨特的家人说，他从来没有打算访问委内瑞拉，但他被该国的边防警卫强迫越过边境。
尽管亨特仍被委内瑞拉关押，但特朗普政府已经成功谈判释放了其他七名美国人。
今年1月，特朗普政府的总统特使理查德·格雷内尔(Richard Grenell)对委内瑞拉进行了一次通常高调的访问，在那里他与该国的威权总统尼古拉斯·马杜罗(Nicolas Maduro)进行了面对面的会晤。
访问结束时，格雷内尔带着六名获释的美国人返回美国。
上周，格雷内尔在X上的一个帖子中宣布，另一名被拘留在委内瑞拉的美国人，美国空军退伍军人约瑟夫·圣克莱尔已经获释。特朗普政府表示，它没有向马杜罗政权做出让步，以换取释放美国公民。
“那应该继续。它需要继续，”Boehler在接受ABC新闻采访时说。“世界上每个国家都需要知道，如果你扣押美国公民，你就不能与美国有任何关系。”
Venezuela holds more US citizens in jail than any foreign country: State Department
The State Department is ramping up efforts to dissuade Americans from traveling to Venezuela after revealing on Tuesday that the country is unjustly imprisoning more Americans than any other country.
"There are more U.S. citizens being held in prisons in Venezuela than any other country," said Adam Boehler, the Trump administration's special presidential envoy for hostage recovery.
"And these are not people that did anything wrong," he continued. "Their only issue is that they are American. Venezuela takes more Americans than any other country for that sole reason."
While the State Department has not revealed exactly how many U.S. citizens are behind bars in Venezuela, at least eight Americans are known to be detained in the country.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks to supporters as he celebrates the results of the parliamentary and regional elections at the Bolivar square in Caracas, on May 25, 2025.
Federico Parra/AFP via Getty Images MORE: Venezuelan migrant whose deportation was blocked by SCOTUS speaks out
The State Department has classified Venezuela under its most severe travel advisory, "Level 4: Do Not Travel," since February 2019. But on Tuesday, the U.S. embassies in Colombia, Guyana, Brazil and Aruba and the State Department's Venezuela Affairs Unit reissued the warning in an attempt to reach more Americans.
"There is no safe way for Americans to travel to Venezuela," a State Department spokesperson said. "U.S. citizens, dual nationals, and lawful permanent residents should avoid travel to Venezuela at all costs. No trip is worth the price of freedom."
Americans often travel to Venezuela with loved ones or partners' families or to see them. However, these loved ones face similar risks as their American contacts.
"Family members and partners of U.S. nationals are often detained alongside the American traveler. Visiting Venezuela puts other people at risk," the official added.
In this March 17, 2025, file photo, President Donald Trump speaks to the media alongside Richard Grenell, President of The Kennedy Center Board of Trustees, in Washington, D.C.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, FILE MORE: 3 US citizens detained in Venezuela over alleged plot against government, interior minister says
The State Department is also warning U.S. nationals that in some cases, even close proximity to the Venezuelan border has led to detention by the country's government.
That's what happened to Lucas Hunter, a 37-year-old dual American and French citizen who was captured by the Venezuelan government in January while on a windsurfing trip in Colombia.
Hunter's family said he never intended to visit Venezuela but that he was coerced across the border by the country's border guards.
Although Hunter remains in Venezuelan custody, the Trump administration has successfully negotiated the release of seven other Americans.
In January, the Trump administration's Special Presidential Envoy for Special Missions Richard Grenell made an usually high-profile trip to Venezuela, where he met with the country's authoritarian president, Nicolas Maduro, face to face.
At the end of the visit, Grenell returned to the U.S. with six freed Americans.
Last week, Grenell announced in a post on X that another American detained in Venezuela, U.S. Air Force veteran Joseph St. Clair, had been released. The Trump administration has said it has offered no concessions to the Maduro regime in exchange for freeing U.S. nationals.
"That should continue. It needs to continue," Boehler said of the releases during an interview with ABC News. "Every country in the world needs to know you can have no relationship with the United States if you are holding U.S. citizens."
