US report charges drug flow rising in Venezuela

CARACAS, Venezuela — A U.S. congressional report on drug trafficking in Venezuela charges that corruption within the government and military has led to a permissive environment that allows smuggling to flourish.

The report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, released Monday, details U.S. officials’ concerns that Venezuela has extended a “lifeline” to Colombian rebels and other illegal armed groups that rely on drug sales for financing “by providing significant support and safe haven along the border.”

The report says U.S. officials believe “a high level of corruption within the Venezuelan government, military, and other law enforcement and security forces contributes to the permissive environment.”

U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar, the Indiana Republican who requested the report, said in a statement that the findings heighten his concern that “Venezuela’s failure to cooperate with the United States on drug interdiction is related to corruption in that country’s government.”

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has defended his government’s counter-drug efforts and condemned the report Friday after a draft was leaked, calling it “a new lie” by the U.S. government.

He called the United States “the top drug trafficking country on this entire planet” and said such reports are used to demonize his government. Venezuelan officials insist that large drug seizures and recent arrests demonstrate their resolve to fight smuggling of Colombian cocaine.

Counter-drug cooperation between Venezuela and the United States has declined sharply since 2005, when President Hugo Chavez accused U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents of spying. U.S. officials denied it.

Last year, the U.S. government accused three high-ranking Venezuelan officials of aiding Colombian rebels and protecting drug shipments.

Chavez has defended the three security chiefs, including Gen. Henry Rangel Silva, who was replaced this week as chief of the Disip intelligence agency by another trusted ally, Gen. Miguel Rodriguez Torres. No reason was given for Rangel’s departure, which was announced Monday in the Official Gazette.

U.S. officials estimated last year that the annual flow of Colombian cocaine through Venezuela rose more than fourfold to 282 tons (256 metric tons) between 2004 and 2007. The GAO report did not offer new figures but said “available data indicate that drug trafficking through Venezuela is increasing.”

It said the number of DEA personnel in Caracas decreased from 10 in 2007 to three by January last year “because the Venezuelan government would not approve visas for incoming replacement agents.”

The report — prepared by GAO researchers who visited Venezuela and Colombia earlier this year and interviewed officials — said that Venezuelan officials have reputedly been bribed to facilitate Colombian cocaine shipments and that Venezuelan police and the National Guard are also involved in drug trafficking.

“According to U.S. officials, corruption within the Venezuelan National Guard poses the most significant threat because the Guard reports directly to President Chavez and controls Venezuela’s airports, borders and ports,” the report said.

U.S. officials have expressed hope of more counter-drug cooperation since Chavez and President Barack Obama’s administration agreed to restore their ambassadors last month, nine months after Chavez expelled Washington’s envoy amid tensions near the end of President George W. Bush’s term.