Circuit Wire — a daily news update from The Circuit.
The State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs added a new "D" risk indicator to its Travel Advisory system on July 19, according to the Overseas Security Advisory Council. The indicator flags countries where a foreign government has wrongfully detained a US national, a practice the Levinson Act of 2020 formally defined and gave the department a process to certify.
Six countries now carry the "D" indicator: Burma, China, Iran, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela. Most of these Travel Advisories already described wrongful detention risk in their body text. The new indicator surfaces that risk at the top of the advisory page, alongside existing indicators for terrorism ("T") and crime ("C").
The department drew a clear line between this indicator and the existing "K" indicator for kidnapping. The "K" indicator warns of abduction or hostage-taking by non-state actors, such as criminal groups or militants. The "D" indicator instead warns that a foreign government itself may detain a US national, often to gain political leverage or concessions from Washington or from a private-sector employer.
OSAC said the designation draws on input from US consulates and embassies, government security and intelligence personnel, and partner governments, with the Secretary of State's formal determination of wrongfulness as the deciding factor. The agency noted its own mission differs slightly from the department's broader public messaging, since OSAC exists to inform US private-sector organizations whose personnel may hold dual or foreign citizenship.
For corporate security and travel risk teams, the change gives a faster way to screen itineraries for detention exposure without reading the full text of every advisory. OSAC advised private-sector security managers with questions about a specific country to contact the OSAC analyst who covers that location. The agency has previously published separate analysis on unlawful detention risk to private-sector personnel abroad.
The change lands as detention risk has drawn renewed attention. Independent research groups have tracked a rise in Americans held by state actors since the early 2000s, with cases concentrated in countries under heavy US sanctions. Duty-of-care policies built around the older "K" and "T" indicators will need an update to account for the new category.
Want a weekly roundup of the major stories shaping the security industry? The On The Circuit newsletter is read by more than 12,000 protection professionals.
Spotted something we should cover? Send tips and feedback via circuit-magazine.com.