CARACAS, Friday September 12, 2008 | Update
Politics
The US Director of the National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP),
John Walters, continued his attack on Venezuelan anti-drug
efforts by saying that the country is becoming an increasingly
important transit point to send cocaine to Europe.
The US drug czar said that the strong US anti-drug efforts
were making it more attractive for drug traffickers to divert
part of Colombian cocaine exports into Europe, through Venezuela.
"The amount of drug (passing through Venezuela) has increased
dramatically in recent years. The problem here is that more
than 200 metric tons are passing through Venezuela and later
are transported by airplanes, partly to the North, towards
the United States. However, most of the drug is delivered
to Europe," Walters complained. The anti-drug czar also said
that the cocaine smuggled out from Venezuela to Europe sometimes
is sent through Western Africa.
04:17 PM. Western Hemisphere. "Damned empire; I curse you one thousand times; some day you will be finished off and wrecked. I curse you one thousand times, empire." This is the least that President Hugo Chávez has uttered to refer to the US government. In urging the Bolivarian Armed Forces to prepare for war, he said that a US raid on Venezuela through Colombia would trigger and spread over the region "the 100-year war."