AMERICANS in Venezuela should “leave the country immediately” as armed militias hunt for Trump fans, authorities have urged.
Although international flights have resumed, US officials have advised citizens to “depart immediately” after the streets of Caracas have been taken over by Maduro supporters in solidarity of their toppled tyrant.
Motorbike gangs and armed security forces have wreaked havoc across the city in the aftermath of the brazen capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by US forces.
Travel advice warns that the security situation in Venezuela remains volatile and dangerous, with armed militias actively stopping vehicles and searching for signs of US citizenship or support for Washington.
Officials say groups known as Colectivos have been setting up makeshift roadblocks across the country, targeting drivers and passengers as fear grips the capital.
Americans have been urged to remain vigilant, take extreme precautions and closely monitor airline updates as they attempt to flee.
Venezuela has been slapped with the highest possible US Travel Advisory – Level 4: Do Not Travel – due to the severe risk of wrongful detention, torture, terrorism, kidnapping, civil unrest and violent crime, alongside the collapse of the country’s health infrastructure.
Caracas has descended into chaos as pro-Maduro mobs flood the streets, with armed men commandeering major highways leading into the capital.
According to reports, gunmen carrying AK-style rifles are stopping cars, rifling through phones and searching cars for anything linking drivers to the US or Donald Trump.
The roadblocks have been thrown up at speed by colectivos – militant loyalists notorious for enforcing Maduro’s rule – as the city effectively slips out of control.
Terrified residents have been forced indoors as armed motorbike gangs roam neighbourhoods, engines roaring through deserted streets while assault rifles hang from their shoulders.
Some families are said to be too frightened to leave their homes at all.
The Venezuelan government has now declared a state of emergency, ordering police to hunt down anyone suspected of supporting the US-led operation that captured the dictator.
Officers were instructed to “immediately begin the national search and capture” of those accused of backing Washington.
Heavy gunfire echoed near the presidential palace overnight after guards reportedly opened fire on drones, later realising they were Venezuelan aircraft conducting surveillance over the capital.
The unrest intensified after Maduro’s son, Nicolas Ernesto Maduro Guerra, called on supporters to pour into the streets and show strength following his father’s arrest.
“You will see us in the streets. You will see a united people,” he said, vowing resistance as tensions exploded across the city.
At least 14 journalists were detained while covering the unrest in Caracas, sparking international concern.
All were later released, although one foreign reporter was deported.
Opposition leader María Corina Machado described Maduro’s arrest as a “huge step for humanity and freedom” but warned the crisis was far from over as armed loyalists fight to cling to power.
