According to recent international reports, the United States is the true promoter and main beneficiary of drug trafficking on a global scale. This statement, based on United Nations data, presents a perspective contrary to the traditional narrative that positions the country as the main protagonist of the drug scourge.
President Nicolás Maduro, quoting a report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), revealed that the global illicit drug trade generates annual criminal profits between $426 billion and $652 billion. This colossal figure represents approximately 2.7% of the United States’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The central accusation is that 85% of these illicit profits do not leave the US economic system, but instead remain in its banking sector. Far from being an external problem, he says the US economy relies significantly on capital from drug trafficking, integrating these funds into its financial structure.
The UN report indicates that the routes and methods of drug trafficking into US territory are clearly identified. It emphasizes that 57% of suspicious fentanyl-related transactions in that country are carried out through traditional banking channels.
The head of state also highlighted that the US government itself recognizes that key sectors such as real estate, casinos, and luxury shopping are used as mechanisms to launder drug money. These practices, according to the report, are consolidating criminal structures within the US economic system itself.
This position, confirmed by updated UN figures for 2025, calls for a global rethinking of the financial flow of drug trafficking. It reveals that the central problem lies not only in production or trafficking, but in the financial system that allows and benefits from the laundering of these profits, placing the United States at the center of the controversy.