Weapons, semi-submersibles and especially 5.4 tonnes of cocaine: it is the exceptional seizure carried out by the Venezuelan authorities in the northwest of the country, in the lake area of Maracaibo, near the Colombian border, announced, Friday, March 14, the Minister of the Interior of Venezuela, Diosdado Cabello.
A quantity of “5.4 tonnes of cocaine of very great purity” was discovered, said the minister evoking a possible national record. “We should look at the archives but it is difficult to find such an important drug seizure” In Venezuela, he said.
Cocaine “Made in Colombia” was transported in boats and submersibles “Rudimentary manufacture”said the minister, also exhibiting carbon monoxide detection devices, explaining that traffickers are surfaced once the detector exceeds a certain limit. The boats passed through a watercourse connecting Colombia to Lake Maracaibo, larger in South America and which has a outlet on the Caribbean Sea, he said.
Eight tonnes of cocaine seized since the start of the year
At least nine people, including two members of the UNI Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), the power training, of which Diosdado Cabello is the number two, were arrested during the operation called “Eclair”. This gave rise to clashes between the authorities and the traffickers. “Two people are dead”announced Mr. Cabello, adding that arrests are underway. Significant amounts of fuel and weapons have also been seized, he added.
This operation brings eight tonnes the amount of cocaine has been seized since the start of the year according to the minister who launched: “Narcotrafic will not pass”. As often in the past, Diosdado Cabello has also accused former Colombian presidents Alvaro Uibe and Ivan Duque of participating in traffic. These two leaders, on the right, were very hostile to the Venezuelan Head of State, Nicolas Maduro, during their respective mandates.
Colombia, the world’s leading producer of cocaine, saw a record production of 2,664 tonnes in 2023 (+ 53 % compared to 2022). Coca cultivated areas extend there over 253,000 hectares.
Since mid-2022 and the coming to power of President Gustavo Petro, the Colombian authorities said, at the end of January, having seized more than 1,900 tonnes of cocaine and destroyed 454 clandestine laboratories of cocaine leaves into cocaine.