CARACAS, VENEZUELA — Venezuela on Sunday rejected U.S. requests to resume cooperation in the war on drugs, insisting it has made progress despite an alleged fourfold-gain in the amount of Colombian cocaine now passing through its territory.
In the latest barb-trading over the issue, Venezuela dismissed U.S. attempts to renew talks on drugs as “useless and inopportune,” saying U.S. officials should focus on slashing demand for drugs at home rather than blaming setbacks on the alleged lack of cooperation of other nations.
“The anti-drug fight in Venezuela has shown significant progress during recent years, especially since the government ended official cooperation programs with the DEA,” Venezuela’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
President Hugo Chavez suspended cooperation with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency in August 2005, accusing its agents of espionage.
Since then, Venezuela has refused to help U.S. officials combat drug trafficking, White House drug czar John Walters said.
U.S. law enforcement has detected a wave of flights that depart Venezuela and drop large loads of cocaine off the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, while other multi-ton loads are moved by boat and air to west Africa — a way station for shipments to Europe, Walters said.
Walters claims the flow of Colombian cocaine through Venezuela has quadrupled since 2004, reaching an estimated 282 tons last year.
Venezuela’s government says it is seizing more illegal drugs than ever before, boosting enforcement along its border with Colombia and stepping up efforts to weed corrupt officials.
