French man becomes latest foreign national to be detained in Venezuela

Pedestrians crossing the Simon Bolivar bridge between Venezuela and Colombia. Franco-Chilean national Camilo Castro was detained in June at a similar border crossing farther north, his family said. © Ivan Valencia/AP

A French national is being detained without cause in Venezuela, claims his family, who say he is one of several foreigners being held in the country in what Amnesty International has denounced as a widespread policy of enforced disappearances.

Camilo Castro, a Franco-Chilean yoga teacher who is about to turn 41, has been detained for nearly two months by the Venezuelan authorities “without cause and without his consular rights being respected,” his family said on Wednesday.