Officials said military authorities did not authorize the travel.
A United States Navy sailor has been detained in Venezuela after reportedly traveling to the country for personal travel, as per Fox News. White House National Security spokesman John Kirby confirmed the detainment on Wednesday during a press brief.
Officials said military authorities did not authorize the travel. It remains unclear why the sailor was detained.
“My understanding was that this individual was on some sort of personal travel and not on official government business,” said Kirby. “We’re obviously in touch, as appropriate as you’d think we would be, with Venezuelan authorities to try and get more knowledge and information about this.”
The State Department announced that it is closely following the situation, Kirby said. The sailor was detained on or about Aug. 30.
The arrest coincides with heightened political unrest in the South American nation in the wake of the July presidential election, which was marred by irregularities that sparked…
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