CARACAS: Officials from the US Embassy in Venezuela met on Wednesday with an American detained in the South American country.       

The embassy said officials from the Consular Section met with the US citizen after President Hugo Chavez announced last week that authorities detained the American and were interrogating him, suspecting he could be a “mercenary.”

“Officials of the Consular Section met with a US citizen being held by Venezuelan authorities,” the embassy said in a statement released on Wednesday.

“We are unable to provide additional information due to privacy considerations.”

Chavez has not identified the detained man.

The socialist leader has said the American could be involved in a purported plot to destabilize the country if the opposition loses an Oct 7 presidential election, but the president has not provided any details regarding the man’s suspected involvement in the alleged conspiracy.

Chavez said the man was arrested on Aug 4, when he was crossing into Venezuela from Colombia on a bus in the middle of the night.

Officials became suspicious when they found a US passport with entrance and exit stamps from countries including Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, Chavez said.

The American’s detention could possibly increase up long-standing tensions between Venezuela and the United States ahead of Venezuela’s presidential election.