And now it's drugs

Venezuela and the United States

Sep 22nd 2005 CARACAS
From The Economist print edition

Mixed signals from Hugo Chávez

AS IF they didn't have enough to argue about already, the United States and Venezuela are now at loggerheads over illegal drugs. On September 15th, George Bush's administration announced that it was “decertifying” the leftist government of President Hugo Chávez, lumping it with Myanmar as a country that had “failed demonstrably” in the past 12 months to fight drugs.

This has little practical effect. There is almost no aid to cut, and Mr Bush ruled that the United States would continue funding opposition groups and election monitoring. It is also a fight in which Latin Americans will sympathise with Mr Chávez. “Certification”, in which the world's largest consumer of illegal drugs casts judgment on others, is so widely reviled that it has been played down by American officials in recent years.

Nevertheless, are the American charges right? Venezuela is not a big drug producer, but the United States' Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) estimates that around 150 tonnes of Colombian cocaine pass through each year on their way to Europe and the United States.
Venezuela's National Guard claims to seize about a fifth of that. But this claim is hard to verify.

Non-American sources say there is mounting corruption among the drug-fighters. A “cartel” of National Guard generals is suspected of easing the passage through Venezuela of several tonnes of drugs a month. Relations with the DEA began to sour when a suspect general was appointed to head the National Guard anti-drugs command. A trafficker wanted in the United States walked out of police headquarters after bribing guards. Several civilian officials trusted by the Americans were removed. Mr Chávez accused the DEA of violating accords, espionage and even drug-trafficking. The National Guard pulled out of a joint anti-drugs task force, and the president went on to suspend the agreement with the DEA.

Although Mr Chávez lambasted the United States at the United Nations last week, he may not want a showdown over drugs. This month, some of the generals under suspicion were quietly removed from their posts. He has offered a fresh agreement to the DEA, one vague enough—say those who have seen it—to permit a deal, whilst retaining the option of a complete split in the future.

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