At least 14 journalists and media employees, including 13 members of international media organisations, were detained in Caracas on Monday, according to the union representing Venezuelan reporters.
Thirteen of those detained were later released, one of whom was deported. One journalist remained in the custody of intelligence services, the National Union of Press Workers (SNTP) said in a post on X. Independent reporting inside Venezuela is severely restricted and authorities have declined visas for foreign journalists to enter the country.
The detentions come three days after a pre-dawn raid by US troops in Caracas captured the Venezuelan leader, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife. Both are facing multiple criminal charges in a federal court in New York.
Five of the detained journalists had been covering the opening session of the National Assembly, where they were banned from recording, transmitting the event live, or taking photos.
Others were detained by military intelligence officers and taken to the National Guard command post in the Assembly building, according to the union. Their phones were confiscated and thoroughly searched, the union said, including contacts, conversations, voice notes, Instagram accounts, emails, and documents.
“This type of action not only threatens the privacy and the security of sources but also is a pattern of criminalisation of journalism,” the union said.
The SNTP did not identify the detained journalists representing international outlets. It did name Daniel Álvarez, a reporter with the Venezuelan television station Televen, who was among those released.
On the border between Venezuela and Colombia, Univision journalist Juan Carlos Vélez said that he and his television crew were briefly detained by the Venezuelan National Guard just over the international bridge between the two countries. Vélez, a Colombian national, said the guardsmen seized their cameras and erased some videos. Two other Colombian news teams were also briefly detained at the border. It was unclear if any had valid journalist visas.
On Sunday, a Guardian journalist had her notes taken and was ordered to leave Venezuelan soil.
The National Association of Journalists recorded the arrests of 21 Venezuelan reporters in the first 11 months of 2025. Most face charges of “terrorism,” “conspiracy,” “incitement to hatred,” and “the dissemination of false information.”
Reporters Without Borders, an international press freedom group, has said that those charges are routinely used to persecute news coverage, critical opinions and reporting on crime or protests. In a recent report, the organisation said that short- and medium-term forced disappearances “have become an established tactic to facilitate the crackdown on Venezuela’s free press.”
