It seems that the ever-efficient Venezuela Connection continues to send thousands of kilograms of cocaine to airports and ports worldwide. Nearly a year ago, on April 11, 2006, Mexican authorities seized 5.5 tons of high-purity cocaine at the Ciudad del Carmen airport. Today, the Mexican newspaper El Universal reports that nearly a ton of cocaine was seized aboard a plane from Venezuela at Mexico City International Airport: 25 pieces of luggage from flight 374 of Mexicana de Aviación were found to contain the drug.
This isn’t the first time that drugs coming from Venezuela—on that same flight—have been confiscated at Mexico City airport. The newspaper reports that in the last three years, there have been 7 significant seizures, with the largest occurring on September 16, 2003, when 407 kilograms of cocaine and heroin were seized, leading to the arrest of a Venezuelan citizen—José Luis Santiago Rivero.
Interestingly, Foreign Minister Nicolás Maduro stated today that Venezuela does not need assistance from the United States to combat drug trafficking activities. “Venezuela refuses to be blackmailed with these funds that they (the U.S.) attempt to use to penetrate and subdue our nations to their decisions,” Maduro claimed.
Maduro emphasized that Venezuela is a sovereign nation and that anti-drug activities will continue; however, he noted that the production of drugs ultimately targets “the millions of drug addicts in the U.S., a byproduct of predatory capitalism” (sic).