Wyss was held by the National Guard then transferred to a military intelligence post in San Cristobal, Herald says
A Miami Herald journalist was being held by Venezuelan authorities for a third day on Saturday after he was stopped while working on a story near the Colombian border, according to the newspaper.
Jim Wyss, the Herald's Bogota-based Andean bureau chief, was reporting on Venezuela's "chronic shortages and looming municipal elections", the newspaper said in a story published on its website. It said he was detained by the National Guard then transferred to a military intelligence post in San Cristobal, close to the frontier, then to the capital, Caracas, 500 miles away.
"We are very concerned. There doesn't seem to be any basis for his detention and we're trying to figure out what's going on. We are asking that Jim Wyss be released immediately," said Aminda Marques Gonzalez, the Herald's executive editor.
In a statement, Claudio Paolillo, chairman of the Miami-based Inter American Press Association's press freedom committee, called for Wyss's immediate release and said he was bewildered by a "new demonstration of intolerance by a regime that day after day shows its contempt for the work of journalists and freedom of the press".
In a statement to the Associated Press, a US state department spokesman said: "We are aware of reports on the arrest of a US citizen. We are seeking further information on these reports from the Venezuelan government. If these reports turn out to be true, we will immediately seek consular access, as we do in the every case of a detained US citizen."
Nicolas Maduro was elected as Venezuela's president in April, following the death of Hugo Chavez. He has repeatedly claimed that the US is trying to destabilise his regime and has expelled several American diplomats this year for alleged conspiracy. In September he claimed that he cancelled a trip to New York because former US government officials were plotting to kill him.
As well as strained foreign relations, Maduro is facing acute domestic economic problems, including shortages of key goods and an annual inflation rate of more than 54%.
A US filmmaker, Timothy Tracy, was arrested at Caracas airport in April this year as he was attempting to leave the country. He was accused of espionage and backing Maduro's opponents. Tracy was released and expelled from Venezuela in June.
The Herald reported that immigration authorities tried to stop Wyss entering the country shortly before Chavez's death was announced. Press freedom advocacy groups have repeatedly accused Maduro's regime of repressive and intimidatory tactics towards journalists.
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