US government reports contradict Trump’s claims on Venezuela’s role in drug trafficking
Washington | Desk: US President Donald Trump's accusations against Venezuela of facilitating drug trafficking into the United States are now being questioned by US government reports themselves. According to the US National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2024), which focuses on drug use and related health conditions in the US, the largest supply of illegal drugs in the United States comes from Mexico and Colombia, while Venezuela is not even listed as a major source.
The report indicates that approximately 27.7 million people in the US use illegal drugs other than marijuana. According to the World Population Review, the US leads the world in the number of people who use illegal drugs. Marijuana and cannabis, as well as substances like MDMA, LSD, and cocaine, are widely used among American consumers.
According to the US report, there is no concrete evidence of large-scale drug trafficking from Venezuela to the United States. Limited quantities of cocaine are transported from Venezuela to Western Europe via sea routes, but the largest shipments of drugs enter the US through the US-Mexico border. Traffickers use sea routes, underground tunnels, and sometimes even corrupt agents for this purpose.
According to a United Nations report, 3,708 metric tons of cocaine were produced worldwide in 2023, of which approximately 2,600 metric tons were produced in Colombia. About 253,000 hectares of land in Colombia are used for coca cultivation, the main raw material for cocaine production.
Several organized criminal gangs are also active in this trade. The US report does acknowledge that some drugs originating in Colombia may pass through Venezuela, but this does not constitute sufficient evidence to prove the Venezuelan government's involvement in drug trafficking to the United States. Despite this, the Trump administration has long accused Venezuela of promoting drug trafficking and "narco-terrorism." In this context, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was recently apprehended in Caracas and brought to the United States, where he is being held in a Brooklyn jail in New York.
This report raises the question of what charges Maduro will face. It is clear that Trump's focus is on Venezuela's oil reserves.
Following Maduro's arrest, Trump warned Mexico, Colombia, and Cuba that the United States would not compromise on drug trafficking and illegal immigration.
