Venezuela detains U.S. sailor, officials say

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The incident occurred amid an increasingly adversarial relationship between Washington and Caracas. This week, a Venezuelan judge ordered the arrest of Edmundo González, who the United States and other allies said clearly defeated authoritarian president Nicolás Maduro in the presidential election this summer.

“González … won the most votes in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election, and this arbitrary and politically motivated action is a low point in Nicolás Maduro’s ruthless pursuit of his political opponents following his attempts to steal the July 28 presidential election,” the State Department said in a statement, protesting the warrant for González’s arrest.

CNN first reported the sailor was detained.

The State Department for years has advised U.S. citizens not to travel to Venezuela, due to the prevalence of violence and complicated diplomatic relationship. “Security forces have detained U.S. citizens for up to five years,” the agency said in its travel advisory. “The U.S. government is not generally notified of the detention of U.S. citizens in Venezuela or granted access to U.S. citizen prisoners there.”

U.S. service members have been involved in recent similar diplomatic incidents in North Korea and Russia. A U.S. Army soldier traveled to northeastern Russia in pursuit of his girlfriend, then was arrested and charged with criminal misconduct. He was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison.

This is a developing story and will be updated.