Document #1051328
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
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.
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."
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."