VENEZUELA · US VISAS
Key Facts
- —The country Venezuela is a South American oil producer whose government is led by Delcy Rodríguez since US forces captured Nicolás Maduro in January 2026.
- —Why it matters If the account is right, US screening of Venezuelan travellers now draws on files once kept by the Sebin, the country’s political intelligence police.
- —Why now The Spanish newspaper ABC published the account on Friday 23 October 2026, about two weeks after new US torture charges against Maduro.
- —What happened A 74-year-old dual national says he was refused a US travel authorization and was later shown a scanned copy of his old military enrolment card, and four other people describe similar cases.
- —The numbers Five travellers whose accounts ABC cites, one 10-year US visa and an entry restriction on Venezuelan nationals that has applied since June 2025.
- —What it means for you Venezuelan citizens and dual nationals who plan to enter the United States may face questions about old military or government records.
- —Still open No US or Venezuelan official has confirmed the access, and it is not known how many people are affected.
- —Power Index Venezuela ranks 13th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 27.0 points (October 2026 edition).
The United States is reportedly using Venezuela files once held by the country’s intelligence services to screen Venezuelans who ask to enter the US, the Spanish newspaper ABC reported on Friday 23 October 2026. ABC builds the claim on five travellers and unnamed sources, and neither government had commented in the coverage we reviewed.
For US readers the report touches who can enter the United States and how Washington now deals with the security apparatus of a country whose nationals it has partly barred since 2025. It comes about two weeks after the Justice Department unsealed new torture charges against Venezuela’s captured former leader Nicolás Maduro, which we covered in US Charges Maduro and Wife With Torture on 8 October.
None of this has been confirmed by an official source, so every claim below stays attributed to the outlet that made it. Our guides Venezuela Politics 2026, Who Holds Power After Maduro and Venezuela Security and Crime Explained 2026 explain who runs the state’s security services.
What the Venezuela Files Report Says
ABC says US authorities now hold documents that, until this year, were kept by Venezuelan intelligence bodies including the Sebin, and that they use them to examine applications to enter the country. The Sebin is the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service, a political police force that for years ran the El Helicoide detention centre in Caracas.
The lead case is a 74-year-old man with Venezuelan and Spanish citizenship, identified only as J.P. because he fears reprisals, whose online travel authorization (ESTA, the Electronic System for Travel Authorization) was refused, he told ABC, with a notice citing a presidential proclamation that restricts entry to the United States. At the US consulate in Madrid, he says, an official showed him a scanned copy of his old armed forces enrolment card bearing his handwritten signature.
He told ABC that he did compulsory service before the 1999 constitution banned forced conscription, and he eventually received a US visa valid for ten years. ABC says it spoke with four other people who describe similar experiences, including authorizations refused after years of trouble-free entry and questions about old personal or military records.
ABC writes that it is clear that US authorities hold the Venezuela files and are using them, even against people who left the armed forces decades ago. It does not publish the documents, name an official or say how the files were obtained, so the claim rests on the five accounts and on sources it does not identify.
The Entry Rules Behind the Denials
The only official text in this story is the entry restriction itself. Proclamation 10949, published in the Federal Register on 10 June 2025, suspended the entry of Venezuelan nationals as immigrants and as visitors, students and exchange visitors on B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M and J visas (Federal Register, 10 June 2025).
The proclamation gave as its reason that Venezuela lacks a competent or cooperative central authority for issuing passports or civil documents and does not have appropriate screening and vetting measures. It also cited a 9.83 percent overstay rate for Venezuelan B-1/B-2 visitors.
A second proclamation, signed on 16 December 2025 and published on 19 December, continued the partial restriction on Venezuela with effect from 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on 1 January 2026 (Federal Register, 19 December 2025). It exempts lawful permanent residents and dual nationals who travel on a passport from a country that is not on the restricted list.
ABC does not explain why a dual national with a Spanish passport received a refusal citing the proclamation. That gap is one more reason the report needs confirmation from Washington.
Claims About Cabello and the Sebin
ABC links the access to Diosdado Cabello, Venezuela’s interior minister, who it says controls the Sebin through his office and through its director, Alexis Rodríguez Cabello, a cousin. Citing unnamed sources in Washington, it says Cabello allowed the opening to improve his position before US justice, since he faces a narcoterrorism indictment and a US reward of up to US$25 million for information leading to his arrest.
ABC adds that US intelligence sources place Cabello behind a code name in the new New York torture case, although the indictment does not name him. We could not check that claim, and being described by anonymous sources is not a charge.
The newspaper also says Defense Minister Gustavo González López, a former Sebin director, has drifted apart from Cabello as each cooperates separately with Washington. Neither man had commented in the coverage we reviewed, and these are claims by anonymous sources, not established facts.
Journalist David Placer said this week on the Club de Prensa programme of the channel NTN24, according to ABC, that Washington has taken over part of the Sebin’s operational oversight and that some surveillance operations need US approval. ABC adds that its sources describe a gradual US plan to reach into the military counterintelligence directorate DGCIM, which the United Nations has accused of serious human rights violations.
The Political Backdrop in Caracas
US forces captured Maduro in January 2026, and Delcy Rodríguez now heads the government in Caracas, with Cabello still interior minister in ABC’s account. The new torture count against Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, unsealed in New York on 8 October 2026, is a separate case that does not itself concern the Sebin files.
Our earlier report Venezuela Still Runs Maduro’s Repression System, UN Mission Says covered a UN mission’s finding that the repressive structure outlived him. If ABC’s account is right, Washington would now hold the paper trail of that system while some of its leaders remain in office.
What It Means for You
Venezuelan citizens and dual nationals who plan to travel to the United States should expect that old military, police or government records may come up in screening, if ABC’s cases are typical. ABC gives no figures, so there is no way to say how many people are affected.
Anyone refused an ESTA that cites the proclamation can check the State Department’s travel pages or ask an immigration lawyer, because the exceptions depend on the passport used. Our Caracas expat city guide covers daily life for people who live in the Venezuelan capital.
For investors and policy watchers, the report points to deeper US and Venezuelan security cooperation that would matter for sanctions, oil and the debate over a political transition. Until Washington or Caracas speaks, it remains the account of a single newspaper.
What Is Not Known
No US or Venezuelan official has confirmed or denied ABC’s Venezuela files report in the coverage we reviewed, and ABC does not publish the documents it describes. We could not speak to the Madrid traveller or to the four others.
It is not known how many people were refused, what exactly the records are, how they reached US hands or whether Cabello agreed to any handover. Placer’s claim of US oversight of the Sebin is his own, and ABC repeats it without independent proof.
El Nacional and Diario Las Américas, which we opened, repeat ABC’s account and add no reporting of their own on the Venezuela files. Because they repeat ABC, they count as one source and not several.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does ABC say about the Venezuela files?
ABC reports that US authorities hold records once kept by Venezuelan intelligence, including the Sebin, and use them to examine applications to enter the United States. The claim rests on five travellers and unnamed sources, and no official has confirmed it.
Who is the traveller in the lead case?
He is a 74-year-old man with Venezuelan and Spanish citizenship who is identified only as J.P. He says his ESTA was refused, and that at the US consulate in Madrid an official showed him a scanned copy of his old armed forces enrolment card.
Which US entry rules apply to Venezuelans?
A proclamation published on 10 June 2025 suspended entry of Venezuelan nationals as immigrants and on B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M and J visas. A December 2025 proclamation continued the restriction from 1 January 2026 and exempts dual nationals who travel on a passport from an unrestricted country.
Has Washington or Caracas responded to the Venezuela files report?
In the coverage we reviewed, neither the US government nor the Venezuelan government had commented. Cabello and Defense Minister González López were also not quoted.
What does it mean for US readers?
Venezuelan citizens and dual nationals may face questions about old records when they apply to enter the United States. The report would also signal closer US security cooperation with Caracas, but only if it is confirmed.
Sources: ABC (Spain), 23 October 2026; El Nacional, 23 October 2026; Diario Las Américas, 23 October 2026; Federal Register, Proclamation 10949, 10 June 2025; Federal Register, proclamation of 16 December 2025; Atlantic Council, 15 October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief