Please find attached an article from the November 1992 issue of the Andean Commission of Jurists' Narcotr fico al día (also published as Drug Trafficking Update, although the corresponding issue is not currently available), which provides recent figures on drug trafficking in Venezuela. The article states that for a period of one year, from 1990 to 1991, when international control of drug trafficking in the Andean region (Bolivia, Perú, Ecuador and Colombia) was strongest, the drug cartels made increased use of Venezuelan territory for their operations. While slightly more than two tonnes of cocaine were seized in 1990, police captured more than eight and a half tonnes of the drug in 1991. According to the article, the National Commission Against the Illegal Use of Drugs (CONACUID) stated that Venezuela's "traditional" role as a transit area for cocaine trafficking was now changing to that of a potential market. This change has also brought increased repression and control by police. Drug-related arrests increased from 8,392 in 1990 to 13,555 in 1991. In both years nearly 90 per cent of those arrested were male. The article also reports that according to the Cuerpo Técnico de la Policía Judicial (the Judicial Police Technical Body), the states most affected by the illegal traffic in drugs are T chira, Lara and the Distrito Federal (Federal District). Nearly 23 per cent of all cocaine seized in 1991 was captured in the state of T chira.

In March 1993 the Andean Commission of Jurists reported that according to the Venezuelan Minister of External Affairs, Venezuela has become an important centre for the "laundering" of money from the illegal drug business (Drug Trafficking Update 8 Mar. 1993, p. 6). The Minister has attributed this situation, which has reportedly turned Venezuela into the continent's main "money laundering" centre, to the country's free financial system and its lack of controls. The Minister has suggested a review of financial legislation by the National Congress (Ibid.). The Venezuelan media report that Venezuela has become a key centre for the distribution of Andean narcotics to the United Sates, Canada and Europe, stating that "billions of dollars" are "laundered" every year in the country and that 200 tonnes of drugs circulated through the country in 1992, although only three tonnes were seized that same year (Ibid.). The same issue of Drug Trafficking Update reports that cultivation of coca and marihuana has recently expanded in Colombia and Venezuela, adding that the consumption of "bazooko", a mixture of cocaine and tobacco, has also increased in Bolivia, Colombia, Perú and Venezuela (Drug Trafficking Update 8 Mar. 1993, p. 1).

One of the attached articles refers to the arrest and deportation of three brothers of Italian origin who reportedly directed a large drug trafficking network from Venezuela (AFP 12 Sept. 1992). According to the article, the brothers, who held Venezuelan and Canadian citizenship, were wanted by authorities in Germany, Canada, Italy and the United States.

The other attached articles provide information on the recent increase in drug trafficking in Venezuela, with references to the country being used as a base for international drug syndicates and corruption among members of the armed forces. One of the attached articles reports the authorities' concern over "signs of increasing influence from Colombia's drug traffickers" (Dallas Morning News 27 Oct. 1992). The source reports the arrest of a police officer who tried to sell heroin to undercover policemen, and an increase in killings attributed in part to feuding drug smugglers. Another article reports that "paramilitary units attached to the Colombian drug cartels also have terrorised border areas by kidnapping Venezuelan ranchers at an alarming rate" (Reuters 2 June 1992). The article also reports that the Venezuelan Chamber of Deputies is working on a number of measures to facilitate control and prosecution of drug cases.

One of the attached articles reports that several prominent individuals, including the former president of Venezuela's highest military court, have been charged with drug offenses (AP 14 Feb. 1992). Another article reports the arrest of an officer attempting to smuggle drugs into the United States, and adds that Venezuelan officials "denied that [the officer's] arrest proved drug dealers' penetration of the Venezuelan Armed Forces, since the army command is strictly monitored by an anti-drug commission" (Notimex 20 July 1992). Please refer to the attached articles for further detail.

Additional and/or corroborating information could not be found among the sources currently available to the DIRB.

References

Agence France Presse (AFP) [Paris, in Spanish]. 12 September 1992. "Interior Minister on Deportations." (FBIS-LAT-92-178 14 Sept. 1992)

Associated Press (AP). 14 February 1992. AM Cycle. "Venezuela Becomes Major Transit Point For Drugs." (NEXIS)

Andean Commission of Jurists. Drug Trafficking Update [Lima]. No. 35. 8 March 1993. "Lost War" and "Major Money Laundering Center."

_____. Narcotr fico al día [Lima]. No. 35. November 1992. "Venezuela: Las cifras de la lucha contra la cocaína."

The Dallas Morning News. 27 October 1992. Home Final Edition. "Heavy Traffic: Once-Pristine Venezuela Becomes Smugglers' Den, Cocaine Transit Point as Trade Spills From Colombia." (NEXIS)

Notimex. 20 July 1992. "Drug Trade Intensifies in Venezuela." (NEXIS)

Reuters. 2 June 1992. BC Cycle. "Venezuela is a Key Route for Shipping Colombian Cocaine to World."

Attachments

Agence France Presse (AFP) [Paris, in Spanish]. 12 September 1992. "Interior Minister on Deportations." (FBIS-LAT-92-178 14 Sept. 1992, p. 58)

Associated Press (AP). 14 February 1992. AM Cycle. "Venezuela Becomes Major Transit Point For Drugs." (NEXIS)

Andean Commission of Jurists. Drug Trafficking Update [Lima]. No. 35. 8 March 1993. "Lost War" and Major Money Laundering Center," pp. 1, 6.

_____. Narcotr fico al día [Lima]. No. 35. November 1992. "Venezuela: Las cifras de la lucha contra la cocaína," p. 8.

The Dallas Morning News. 27 October 1992. Home Final Edition. "Heavy Traffic: Once-Pristine Venezuela Becomes Smugglers' Den, Cocaine Transit Point as Trade Spills From Colombia." (NEXIS)

Notimex [Mexico, in Spanish]. 12 September 1992. "More on Arrest, Deportation." (FBIS-LAT-92-178 14 Sept. 1992, pp. 58-59)

_____. 20 July 1992. "Drug Trade Intensifies in Venezuela." (NEXIS)

Reuters. 16 April 1993. BC Cycle. "Laundering Money Becomes Big Business in Venezuela." (NEXIS)

_____. 2 June 1992. BC Cycle. "Venezuela is a Key Route for Shipping Colombian Cocaine to World."