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The US State Department<\/a> has demanded the immediate release of an American journalist detained in Venezuela<\/a> after it was reported on Wednesday the country\u2019s counter-intelligence agency arrested the freelance reporter.<\/p>\n Cody Weddle was reportedly obtained by Venezuela authorities during a raid at his home in Caracas<\/a> this week.<\/p>\n The journalist, who produced freelance coverage on the political crisis under Nicolas Maduro<\/a> for publications like the Daily Telegraph<\/em>, Miami Herald<\/em> and ABC News<\/em>, had not been reached since 8am on Wednesday morning, according to a Venezuela press workers\u2019 union.<\/p>\n Kimberly Breier, an assistant secretary of state at the US State Department, called on Venezuela to release the journalist in a tweet<\/a> on Wednesday, saying the federal agency was \u201caware of and deeply concerned\u201d about the developments.<\/p>\n The Venezuela leader \u2014 whose recent electoral victory has been deemed a farce by the international community \u2014 \u201cprefers to stifle the truth rather than face it,\u201d Ms Breier wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing a journalist is not a crime,\u201d she added. \u201cWe demand the journalist\u2019s immediate release, unharmed.\u201d<\/p>\n The arrest arrives a week after Jorge Ramos \u2014 a notable journalist and Univision anchor \u2014 was detained in Venezuela along with his crew. The incident occurred as the reporter was interviewing Mr Maduro, according to the Guardian<\/em><\/a>, which said the news team was deported shortly afterwards.<\/p>\n The latest arrest has sparked outcry from civil rights groups and press organisations alike.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Maduro regime, desperate, is doing the only thing it knows to do: repress and censor,\u201d Jos\u00e9 Miguel Vivanco, a director at Human Rights Watch, wrote in a tweet.<\/p>\n Donald Trump and his White House administration have thrown their support behind opposition leader Juan Guaido<\/a>, who recently invoked a Constitutional authority allowing the leader of Venezuela\u2019s Democratically-elected Congress to assume the presidency.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Maduro regime has blocked international aid from coming into the country, causing a deadly confrontation at the nation\u2019s borders, as the economic and political crisis continues to intensify.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n