Foreign Ministry advises Israelis to avoid travel to Venezuela after US strikes

Updating its general warning, Israel now advises against all travel to country, including for dual Israeli-Venezuelan citizens; Caracas broke diplomatic ties with Jerusalem in 2009

By ToI Staff and AFP 3 January 2026, 6:07 pm

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Soldiers guard the area around the Miraflores presidential palace after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, January 3, 2026. (AP/Cristian Hernandez)

The Foreign Ministry on Saturday told Israelis to avoid travel to Venezuela after the United States conducted strikes and captured President Nicolas Maduro early Saturday morning.

Venezuela broke diplomatic ties with Israel over its criticism of Operation Cast Lead in Gaza in 2008-2009, and Israel has had a general warning for all Israelis who are non-Venezuelan citizens to “avoid travel” to the country since January 2025, when Maduro was sworn in for a third term in what the ministry called “fraudulent election results.”

Updating its warning, the ministry on Saturday called on Israelis to avoid all travel, including those with Venezuelan citizenship, in light of the events in the country.

The ministry also noted that “Venezuela maintains ties with Iran, as well as with the terrorist organization Hezbollah.”

Some 7,000 Jews live in Venezuela, down from over 20,000 in 2000.

Most Venezuelan Jews now live in Israel, which is home to around 10,000 members of the small community. It has swelled in size since an economic crisis began rocking the South American country in the early 2000s.

Fire at Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela’s largest military complex, is seen from a distance after a series of US strikes in Caracas on January 3, 2026. (AFP)

US President Donald Trump said Saturday that US forces had captured Maduro after bombing the capital Caracas and other cities in a dramatic climax to a months-long standoff between Trump and his Venezuelan arch-foe.

In a series of fast-moving events, Caracas was rocked by explosions, accompanied by the sound of attack helicopters, around 2 a.m. (0600 GMT).

The strikes, which targeted a major military base and an airbase, among other sites, continued for around an hour.

“The United States of America has successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country,” Trump said on Truth Social, around two hours after the attacks began.

US Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a post on X that Maduro and his wife would face “the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts” over drug and terrorism charges.

US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau hailed “a new dawn for Venezuela,” on X, adding: “A tyrant is gone.”

The Venezuelan government accused the United States of an “extremely serious military aggression” and called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.