Venezuela Severs Ties with DEA

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez announced Sunday that Venezuela would no longer allow the United States Drug Enforcement Agency to operate within its borders. Andy Webb-Vidal, Chávez Abandons Co-Operation With US over Drugs, Fin. Times, Aug. 9, 2005 at 7, also available here.

Venezuela, in recent years, has become a major corridor in the international drug trade; roughly one-third of Colombia’s cocaine is smuggled through Venezuela. Id. The United States is disheartened by the decision which has been characterized as a signal that Venezuela wishes to cut all ties with the United States. Id.

When President Chávez made the announcement, he claimed that “the DEA was using the fight against drugs trafficking as a cover to undertake intelligence work in Venezuela against the government, even to support drugs trafficking.” Id. While the DEA will occasionally co-opt small-time dealers to catch big-time traffickers in a process known as “controlled delivery,” id., the United States denies that it has been conducting intelligence operations in Venezuela, and is now considering punishing the country with sanctions. See Saul Hudson, U.S. Mulls Sanctions on Venezuela over Drug Move, Wash. Post, Aug. 8, 2005, available here.

The United States has already sanctioned Venezuela for failing to combat human trafficking. Id.