The details of the sailor’s arrest remain unclear. However, the official told the Washington Examiner that the government’s working theory is that the soldier was detained on Aug. 30. The individual’s identity has not been released.

“We are aware of reports that U.S. Navy Sailor was detained on or about Aug. 30, 2024, by Venezuelan law enforcement authorities while on personal travel to Venezuela,” a Pentagon spokesperson told the Washington Examiner. “The U.S. Navy is looking into this and working closely with the State Department. We refer you to the State Department for additional questions.”

It’s unclear why the service member was in Venezuela, though the Department of State lists the country as a “Level 4 – Do Not Travel” on its advisory scale. 

“Do not travel to Venezuela due to crime, civil unrest, kidnapping, and the arbitrary enforcement of local laws. Reconsider travel due to wrongful detentions, terrorism, and poor health infrastructure,” states the department’s travel advisory for Venezuela.

The State Department’s advisory cautions there is “a high risk of wrongful detention” and warns that Venezuelan security forces have “detained U.S. citizens for up to five years” and that the U.S. government is not generally notified when Venezuela arrests an American, nor do they grant United States access to those prisoners.

Venezuela’s arrest of the sailor comes as the country is facing political unrest following last month’s fraudulent election that the U.S. and several other Western countries believe President Nicolas Maduro lost to opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.

On Sept. 2, the U.S. government seized an aircraft belonging to Maduro in the Dominican Republic. U.S. officials said the seizure was in response to sanctions and export control violations after Maduro’s affiliates used a shell company to purchase the $13 million airplane from a Florida-based company and transfer it to Venezuela in April 2023.

In Dec. 2023, the U.S. secured the release of six Americans considered by the State Department to be wrongfully detained and four other Americans. The U.S. also secured the extradition of Leonard “Fat Leonard” Francis, who is the Malaysian businessman involved in one of the most brazen bribery scandals in the history of the U.S. military, from Venezuela back to the U.S. about fifteen months after he escaped home confinement and fled the U.S.

President Joe Biden agreed to grant clemency to Colombia-born Alex Saab, who is an alleged Maduro financier pending trial on money laundering charges from 2019, to free those Americans.