US Accuses Venezuela and Bolivia of Failing to Tackle Drug Trafficking, Lets Colombia Off the Hook

This Wednesday, the President of the United States signed the annual determination on those countries that it considers “major drug transit or major drug producing” areas, in which it levied accusations against Bolivia and Venezuela for supposedly failing to “adhere” to counternarcotics obligations.

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The White House listed 22 countries as “major drug transit and/or major illicit drug producing countries,” with a majority of them being in Latin America or the Caribbean. The named countries include Afghanistan, The Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Burma, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.

The document describes Bolivia and Venezuela as “countries that have failed demonstrably during the previous 12 months to adhere to their obligations under international counternarcotics agreements.”

It is not the first time such accusations have been thrown at Venezuela and its allies by the United States in an attempt to slander its leaders. In February of this year, the newly assumed administration of Donald Trump accused Venezuela's vice president, Tareck El Aissami of having “drug trafficking link” without providing substantial evidence. The accusations have never been verified.

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According to the document, the United States “seriously considered” designating Colombia along with Bolivia and Venezuela as a “country that has failed demonstratably” to “adhere” to counternarcotics measures, but ultimately decided not to “because the Colombian National Police and Armed Forces are close law enforcement and security partners of the United States in the Western Hemisphere.”

“A country's presence on the foregoing list is not necessarily a reflection of its government's counternarcotics efforts or level of cooperation with the United States,” the statement read.

The document expressed no concern over countries where drug trafficking has become a dangerous, highly institutionalized force, such as Mexico.