Venezuela Questions U.S.
Anti-Drug Agency's
Professionalism
Venezuela questioned the
professionalism of the
U.S. anti-drug agency
when the U.S. urged
closer anti-drug and
anti-terror
collaboration with
Venezuela Wednesday.
"Venezuela is carrying
out one of South
American most successful
anti-drugs policies,
even more successful
after it expelled the
U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA),"
said Jorge Valero,
Venezuela's
representative at the
Organization of American
States (OAS).
Valero claimed it false
the U.S. blame on
anti-drug efforts of
Venezuelan President
Hugo Chavez.
Last weekend, White
House anti-drug director
John Waters said Chavez
"has become a major
facilitator for the
trafficking of cocaine
to other nations on this
continent and to
Europe".
Valero also said the DEA
has carried out
conspirative activities
against the Venezuelan
government and has
broken the law of
Venezuela by a series of
arbitrary arrests.
"The United States lacks
the moral authority to
lead the global fight
against drugs because it
uses this as a pretext
to interfere with the
internal affairs of
other nations," Valero
said, adding the U.S.
had not made a visible
contribution in
anti-drug fights.
On the same day, Thomas
Shannon, who is in
charge of Western
Hemisphere affairs at
the U.S. Secretariat of
State, told the
Colombian radio that "we
recognized that we have
had some difficult
moments with the
Venezuelan government,
but we hope that
especially in the fight
against drugs and
against terrorism it is
possible to work
bilaterally, because we
are dealing with a
transnational problem."
Shannon said there is a
lot more to be done
along with Venezuela in
particular and Andean
and Caribbean nations in
general, by sharing the
responsibility,
recognizing that "the
big market for drugs is
in the United States and
Europe".
Venezuela seized some 43
tons of cocaine in 2004,
when the DEA operated in
the country. The country
seized some 77.5 tons in
2005when it expelled the
DEA, and 57.5 tons in
2007. . |
|
