Many Americans love nothing more than traveling around the world and exploring other countries.

But not every country outside of America is a good place to visit.

And now American travelers are being warned not to travel to this socialist nation for a laundry list of bone-chilling reasons.

“Do not travel” warning renewed

The Biden Department of State is strongly urging American travelers to heed its recently renewed “do not travel” warning for the country of Venezuela. 

The Department emphasized that the U.S. government “has no ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens” who encounter any trouble.

Officials say the notice, which is the most severe the State Department can issue, is about civil unrest, a “slide towards dictatorship,” ongoing threats of terrorism, and an anti-American bias.

The agency said, “Violent crimes, such as homicide, armed robbery, kidnapping, and carjacking, are common in Venezuela.”

Things are so serious that the U.S. government is advising travelers who choose to travel to Venezuela to make sure they “establish a ‘proof of life’ protocol” with loved ones.

“If you are taken hostage, your loved ones {should] know specific questions (and answers) to ask the hostage-takers to be sure that you are alive (and to rule out a hoax),” officials said.

The agency added, “The Department has determined there is a high risk of wrongful detention of U.S. nationals in Venezuela. Security forces have detained U.S. citizens for up to five years.”

They also warned that the American government is rarely notified or given access to any incarcerated nationals.

Despite the warnings, hundreds of thousands of Americans travel to Venezuela each year.

Many people go there because of the nation’s long stretch of undeveloped Caribbean coastline and its adjacent islands with pristine landscapes. 

However, when Venezuelan Socialist Dictator Nicolas Maduro rose to power after the death of his dictatorial predecessor, Hugo Chavez, in 2013, the number of foreign visitors started to decline.

Commenting on the most recent election, the State Department said Maduro “illegally claimed the presidency of Venezuela, despite global condemnation of a rigged election” and is carrying on Chavez’ efforts to cement Venezuela as a full-scale socialist dictatorship.

A country in serious danger

The travel warning was first issued in 2019 when the U.S. started to pull personnel from Venezuela, and it was reissued on May 13, 2024.

And it’s being renewed just weeks before Maduro stands for re-election in Venezuela’s July election.

The State Department says Maduro is strengthening “alliances with outside nations including Cuba, Russia, Iran, and China that repress the Venezuelan people further.”

They added that political rallies and demonstrations occur there with little notice and typically elicit “a strong police and security force response including the use of tear gas, pepper spray, and rubber bullets against participants.”

The State Department noted that these types of events “occasionally devolve into looting and vandalism.”

Venezuela is also facing numerous major crises, including shortages of water, electricity, gasoline, and medicine – all of which are a direct result of the very socialist policies Democrats continue to push in America today.

Terror groups from the nearby country of Colombia are also highly active in the region.