US Embassy in Colombia warns Americans about risk of detention on the Colombian-Venezuelan border

() — The Embassy of the United States in Colombia issued an alert Wednesday warning Americans of a risk of detention along the Colombia-Venezuela border.

The alert comes after several Americans were recently detained in Venezuela, at least one of whom, Eyvin Hernández, was arrested along the border in March.

“The border between Colombia and Venezuela is poorly marked and US citizens are at risk of accidentally crossing into Venezuela and being detained for illegal entry,” the security alert says. “If you choose to travel to Venezuela, do not attempt to enter Venezuela without a visa.”

The statement says that the United States Department of State has classified Venezuela at alert level 4, which means “do not travel due to the arrest and detention of United States citizens without due process or the guarantees of a fair trial, or as a pretext for an illegitimate purpose; kidnapping; crime; wrongful detention; and other factors,” the alert says.

“US citizens attempting to enter Venezuela without a visa have been charged with terrorism and other serious crimes and have been detained for long periods,” the alert said.

“The Maduro regime does not notify the US Government of the detention of US citizens and the US Government is not allowed access to those citizens,” the statement added.

“The Government of the United States has a limited capacity to provide consular services to US citizens in Venezuela since the withdrawal of diplomatic personnel from the US Embassy. in Caracas,” the text adds.