The chancellery of Venezuela, the most violent country in 2018 in Latin America according to the Venezuelan Observatory of Violence (OVV), has issued a statement suggesting that Venezuelans "postpone their trips, or, in any case, take extreme precautions" if they go to the United States in light of the "acts of violence and indiscriminate hate crimes" that have occurred recently.
The safety of Venezuelans "is at special risk, after having been declared an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security of the United States of America since 2015," the notice maintains.
It also refers to the two shootings that occurred over the weekend that left at least 30 dead.
"The Ministry of Popular Power for Foreign Affairs of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela suggests to Venezuelan citizens who plan to travel to the territory of the United States of America, postpone their trips or, in any case, take extreme precautions during the same, given the proliferation of acts of violence and indiscriminate hate crimes, expressed last weekend in the towns of El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, leaving a balance of 30 people dead and nearly 53 injured," reports the note.
The Foreign Ministry also suggested "avoid visiting some cities that are among the 20 most dangerous in the world, such as Cleveland, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan; Baltimore, Maryland; St. Louis, Missouri; Oakland, California; Memphis, Tennessee; Birmingham , Alabama; Atlanta, Georgia; Stockton, and Buffalo, according to Forbes (2019).”
This statement comes after The Uruguayan Foreign Ministry issued a similar warning to its citizens, "in the face of growing indiscriminate violence, mostly due to hate crimes, among which racism and discrimination, which cost the lives of more than 250 people in the first seven months of this year."
From Montevideo they recommended it was necessary to "avoid some cities, which are among the 20 most dangerous in the world, such as Detroit (Michigan), Baltimore (Maryland) and Albuquerque (New Mexico), according to the Ceoworld Magazine 2019 index."
Days before, last Friday the 2nd, the US State Department had raised the alert level for traveling to Uruguay, because "violent crimes, such as homicides, armed robberies, vehicle theft and robberies have increased in throughout the country and occur in urban areas frequented by US Government personnel day and night.
The Maduro regime, for its part, broke diplomatic relations with the United States in January, when the Donald Trump government recognized Juan Guaidó as interim president.
Last March, after withdrawing its diplomatic personnel from the South American country, the North American State Department reiterated the warning to its citizens of do not travel to Venezuela for "crimes, civil unrest, poor health infrastructure, and arbitrary arrests and detentions of American citizens."
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