Venezuela And The Drug Trade

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Drug Flights Operate Out Of Venezuela, U.S. Report Says
-- Miami Herald

A U.S. government report says drug traffickers have no fear of Venezuelan authorities.

Venezuela is playing a leading role in the hemisphere's drug traffic, a country where hundreds of cocaine smugglers' planes land and take off with little fear of local authorities, according to new U.S. government data.

Information from the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy, with data through June, showed the number of drug flights detected leaving Venezuela increased tenfold from the levels in 2002. The number spiked from 21 in 2002 to 220 last year and is on the road to establishing a record this year.

The majority of the flights head to the Dominican Republic, where drugs can be transshipped to nearby Puerto Rico or farther out to the U.S. mainland or Europe, according to the data obtained by El Nuevo Herald. The flights' second-most-popular destination was Mexico, from where the drugs can reach the U.S. market.

In terms of cargo, the estimated quantities leaving Venezuela more than quadrupled in five years to nearly 256 metric tons in 2007, compared with 51 metric tons in 2002. In the same time frame, the quantity of drugs seized by Venezuelan authorities decreased nearly 50 percent, according to the report.

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My Comment: The rule of law and accountability has been slowly declining in Venezuela since Chavez assumed power. This trend is only going to continue.