The Executive Vice President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, responded forcefully to accusations from the United States (US) about alleged links between the Venezuelan government and drug trafficking. In a message on her channel on Telegram, the senior official denied the statements and redirected the accusations toward the United States.
The response was delivered through a video in which the senior official quoted specific data from the 2025 World Drug Report, prepared by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which refutes the allegations made against Venezuela.
The UN report quoted in the video reveals that the vast majority of drugs produced in Colombia (87%) are transported to the United States via the Pacific Routes. This data demonstrates that the main flow of drug trafficking is directed toward the US market, not Venezuela.
The video also reveals that 8% of Colombia’s drug production leaves through the Caribbean coast and the Colombian Guajira. Only a 5% attempts to move through Venezuelan territory to Europe and the Caribbean, a significantly lower figure compared to routes that end in North America.
Based on these statistics, Rodríguez concluded in an emphatic manner: «The cartel is in the north, not in Venezuela.» This phrase summarizes the proven data that contradicts the false accusations of the United States and points to the United States as the main center of consumption and money laundering for global drug trafficking.
This is not the first time the vice president has exposed the false narrative the United States is attempting to impose against Venezuela. She previously qualified it as «the largest drug cartel on the planet”, accusing it of operating a money laundering network that financially supports the international drug trafficking industry.
Finally, the statement highlighted the efforts of the Bolivarian Government in the fight against this scourge, stating that more than 50,000 tons of drugs have been seized since the beginning of this year, thus reaffirming its commitment to this matter in the face of international criticism.