Two American officials at the U.S. embassy in Caracas, Venezuela were shot in an altercation outside a local nightclub early Tuesday morning.

Both officials were shot in the abdomen, and one was also shot in the leg, but the wounds do not appear to be life-threatening, according to the State Department.

"Two members of the U.S. Embassy in Caracas were injured during an incident early this morning," said William Ostick, a spokesperson for the State Department. "Medical staff inform us that their injuries do not appear to be life-threatening. Embassy security and health unit personnel are at the hospital and have been in touch with the two individuals and their families," he said.

American officials had little else to say and would not confirm where the embassy workers were during the shooting or what they were doing there.

"I am not sure if it was a restaurant, or a nightclub, or what the actual establishment was, but that is why we are in touch with embassy personnel," said Patrick Ventrell, another State Department spokesperson.

Venezuelan officials were more forthcoming. They identified the victims as Roberto Ezequiel Rosas, who they said was shot in the right leg and the abdomen, and Paul Marwin. Both men are military attaches stationed in Caracas.

"Apparently it was a fight originating in a nightspot where these people were attacked and shots were fired at them and they suffered gunshot wounds," said police spokesperson Douglas Rico, speaking to television channel Globovision.

There was no information on suspects or a motive for the shooting. Both the Americans and the local Venezuelan police are investigating, but it is unlikely there will be much cooperation between the two groups.

Venezuela's bombastic former President Hugo Chavez often accused the United States of imperial tendencies, accusation that have not slowed in the wake of Chavez's death from cancer in March of this year. His successor, Niclas Maduro, hews closely to Chavez's policies, including distrust of the American influence and capitalist markets.

Under the policies of Chavez and Maduro, Venezuela's poor have seen their lot improve due to nationalization of many industries and the exploitation of the country's vast oil wealth. But the middle and upper classes have suffered, as have students and the educated classes, as crime and inflation have skyrocketed.

Caracas has the sixth highest murder rate of any large city in the world. The American officials were in a part of town considered to be upper-middle class, east of the center of the city. Americans working abroad for the federal government are not required to stay within American compounds, but they are then subject to the laws and the dangers of the surrounding country, which can be a difficult situation in hostile or unfriendly territory.

Unrest has grown in Venezuela since the defeat of moderate presidential candidate Henrique Capriles in last month's presidential election. Capriles was a favorite of expatriate Venezuelans, many of whom have settled in the United States.

Capriles maintains the vote was rigged by Maduro and the military, which has close ties to the ruling party.