More than 75% of the drug produced by Colombia is transferred by the Colombian Pacific to Mexico and Central America to the United States; only a small percentage of it is transported through Venezuelan territory to the Caribbean islands, the US and Europe, as a result of the effectiveness of public policies in this area.
The assertion was made by the head of the National Anti-Drug Office (ONA), G / D Juan Pedro Grillo Gonzalez, during the “Via Alterna” (Alternate Way) program, broadcast by RNV Informative channel: “We have had a real and serious public policy where all public authorities are involved, from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Supreme Court of Justice and all State security organs to prevent the sovereign territory from being used for this purpose.”
Venezuela, said the interviewee, “has become a stumbling block for the flow of drug trafficking” as the figures show. This year 41,930 kilograms of different drugs were seized throughout the country, a figure that registered an increase of 10% in relation to the total reported in 2017.
Regarding the impact of Colombia’s increase in drug production in its neighbors, he explained that 69% of the total seizures practiced during this year in the country were carried out in Zulia, which is equivalent to more than 23 thousand kilos of drugs, followed by Falcón and Apure, all border regions.
According to the most recent report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), corresponding to 2017, Colombia registered an increase in coca leaf illicit crops by 17% and in cocaine production potential in 31%, compared to 2016.
Last week, troops from the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) and the National Anti-Drug Office (ONA) seized 12 tons of cocaine hydrochloride, after the dismantling of 14 laboratories in the Jesús María Semprún municipality, the south of Maracaibo Lake, border with Colombia.
These figures, says the head of the ONA, show that the increase in drug production in Colombia damages the security of the border populations, their daily life and economy.
