Venezuela Is Becoming A Drug Trafficking Hub

Hidden in a large ochre-coloured container, the 1.4 tonnes of cocaine got past two dozen army checkpoints during a 500-mile journey from the Colombian border to the Venezuelan capital. The drugs were stored for several days at the Simon Bolivar International Airport outside Caracas, then placed in 31 suitcases with false name-tags and put on an Air France flight to Paris on Sept. 10, 2013. Ten days later, French police announced the biggest cocaine haul in their history – the shipment was worth about $US270 million – after a meticulous operation involving French, British, Spanish and Dutch authorities.The foreign agents kept Venezuelan authorities in the dark. “They’re not stupid,” Mildred Camero, who led Venezuela’s anti-drug agency under former socialist leader Hugo Chavez, said recently of the decision to exclude Venezuela from the sting. “Why would they tell them about the operation knowing that Venezuela’s military was involved?” Camero told Reuters. More…