Foreign
Chavez Becoming
Cocaine Kingpin
Despite the Venezuelan strongman’s
denials, greed, corruption, and cooperation
with Colombian terrorists fuel a
massive increase in drug traffi cking.
By Clayton B. Reid
C
OCAINE SMUGGLING IS BIG BUSINESS THESE DAYS IN LEFTIST
President Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela — and business is
booming. A startling report from the U.S. Government
NOISE AND TOYS
Hugo Chavez
Accountability offi ce (GAO) revealed that between 2004
displays three
and 2007, the amount of cocaine shipments secretly
AT-4 anti-tank
shipped from drug-producer Colombia to cocaine-traf-
rockets similar to
fi cker Venezuela more than quadrupled, from 60 metric
those he claims
tons in 2004 to 260 metric tons in 2007. were “stolen”
From Venezuela most of the cocaine leaves the from Venezuela
country by ship, plane (from one of hundreds of remote
by a Colombian
dirt airstrips), and even submarine, headed for the
terrorist group.
Dominican Republic or Haiti en route to Mexican smug-
gling routes into the United States.
Some of the illegal drugs are shipped to
West Africa, then to Spain, to be peddled
throughout Europe. States between 2003 and 2008 for anti-narcotics enforce-
While the GAO report cites “a high level of ment. “Venezuela’s failure to cooperate with the U.S. on
corruption within the Venezuelan government, drug interdiction is related to corruption in that country’s
military, and other law enforcement and secu- government,” stated Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., who
rity forces” as making this sudden explosion requested the GAO study.
of cocaine profi ts for Venezuela possible, the “Given the counter-narcotics efforts of Colombia and
Dr. Ray Walser G
R
Heritage Foundation
question is, How involved is President Chavez? the U.S. government, it has become more diffi cult to
.
O
E
“The report left the very fi rm impression traffi c cocaine from Colombia directly to the U.S.,”
G
I
T
A
that orders came from on high to squash any coun- Stephen Meiners, Latin America analyst for global intel-
E
R
F
H
ter-drug operations,” Dr. ligence fi rm Stratfor, tells
O
Y
Ray Walser, Heritage
T
E
S
R
U
Foundation senior policy
“
Chavez’s agents have been caught
Newsmax. “Cocaine ship-
ment patterns are begin- /
C
O
E
R
analyst for Latin America,
red-handed providing anti-tank rockets,
ning to shift, especially
L
S
tells Newsmax.
small arms, munitions, and money to
as Colombia and the U.S.
/
WA
E
S
Cocaine, and Chavez’s become more effective at
G
A
M
I
fl irtations with anti-Colom-
guerrillas waging an illegal war against a
interdicting shipments.”
E
T
T
Y
bian guerrilla “narcotrafi -
sovereign neighbor. F
P
/
G
cantes,” has the war drums
’’
Cocaine production has
dropped in Colombia by 18
/
A
E
X
O
beating along the Arauca River. percent according to U.N. fi gures, but has picked up in S
C
A
Venezuela, the GAO report states, has ceased coopera- Peru and Bolivia, with much of this cocaine entering the
M
O
tion with U.S. drug interdiction efforts, despite the expen- United States through Pacifi c shipping routes. As drug E
Z
/
T
H
diture of $35 million given to Venezuela by the United smuggling picks up, so does murder. Venezuela’s inter-
A
V
C
H
46 NEWSMAX / NOVEMBER 2009
46_FOR_Venez drugs.indd 46 9/30/09 7:56 PM
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