| Posted: 05 January 2026 at 4:35pm | IP Logged | 2
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Most illicit drug flows into the US come from Colombia, Peru and Bolivia, via Mexico. When it comes to Fentanyl, none (or, at least, nothing significant) comes from Venezuela.
This is the conclusion of the US State Dept's 2025 report for Intl Narcotics Control Strategy:
Despite Maduro’s claimed efforts in countering drug trafficking, the country’s role in the global supply chain of illicit drugs has expanded from being a drug transit zone to becoming a cocaine-producing nation. Maduro representatives failed to meaningfully prosecute suspected drug traffickers, and Venezuela’s use as a transit and origin point for illegal drugs has continued to grow.
Whereas for, say, Colombia:
Colombia is the world’s top cocaine producer and exporter and a source of heroin and marijuana. For nearly 25 years, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has identified Colombia as the primary source for cocaine in the United States.
Colombia set records for cocaine seizures in 2023 and according to Ministry of Defense figures exceeded those statistics in 2024. Colombian seizures of cocaine and cocaine base totaled 846 metric tons (MT) in 2023, 10 percent higher than in 2022. Statistics for 2024 interdictions show another 14 percent increase to 960 MT at the close of the year.
Or, say, Bolivia:
Bolivia is the third-largest producer of cocaine globally, after Colombia and Peru, and isa significant transit hub for Peruvian cocaine, according to the United Nations Office onDrugs and Crime (UNODC).
It is clearly evident for anyone objective that illicit drugs cannot be the primary reason for prioritising Venezuela. We also know that Venezuela has the largest reserves of oil in the world, while the US is the largest consumer of oil in the world. You don't even need to make the small inductive leap to put two and two together here because Trump is openly stating the answer is four.
Edited by Peter Martin on 05 January 2026 at 4:36pm
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