Illegal drug trade in Venezuela

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Illegal drug trade in Venezuela is the practice of illegal drug trading in Venezuela. Venezuela has been a path to the United States for cocaine originating in Colombia, through Central America and Mexico and Caribbean countries such as Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. In the 2010s, Venezuela also gradually became a major producer of cocaine.

According to the United Nations, there has been an increase of cocaine trafficking through Venezuela since 2002.^[1] In 2005 Venezuela severed ties with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), accusing its representatives of spying.^[2] Following the departure of the DEA from Venezuela and the expansion of DEA's partnership with Colombia in 2005, Venezuela became more attractive to drug traffickers.^[3] Between 2008 and 2012, Venezuela's cocaine seizure ranking among other countries declined, going from being ranked fourth in the world for cocaine seizures in 2008^[4] to sixth in the world in 2012.^[5]