Crime Reporter
The figures showed by international entities, as the United Nations Organization (UNO), about the world efforts against drug trafficking deny the accusations issued by offices of the United States government against Venezuela, which informs that cocaine traffic through Venezuelan territory has increased in 400% this year.
Charges against Venezuela, showed by some local media linked to the policies issued by Washington, were denied on Monday 21st by the Minister of Interior Relations and Justice, Ramón Rodríguez Chacín, when he explained that the UN figures discredit the estimates of the so called Southern Command of the United States, entity which is not counted among the international authorities in the matter.
The Minister supported such information with the following argument. 'The UN affirms that it is being produced around 600 tons of cocaine in Colombia yearly. Out of that quantity, approximately 420 goes out, deducting the quantity confiscated on the course. At the same time, the drug dealing routes marked by the same US organizations show that 70% of the drug going out of Colombia towards the United States is taken out through the Pacific coast of the neighbor country.'
Rodríguez Chacín added that, according to the figures collected every year on the UN reports, regarding the struggle against drugs, the version affirming that cocaine traffic through Venezuela reached 225 tons last year cannot be grounded.
'If we pay attention, if we fix our attention very well, their numbers (US) do not match on no account. Anyhow they want to make them, those do not match (...) and, pay attention, we are not basing upon our figures, which we do have, we are showing the figures of international organizations, which are really supposed to evaluate the matter. (...) the United States, which consumes 45% of the whole drug produced in the world, is not any authority. The UN is,' he insisted.
Therefore, he pronounced upon the informations that tackle with the existence of the so called 'semi-submersibles', a kind of submarine vessels built in Colombia to export cocaine. In regards to this matter, the Minister said that these ships have been located in Colombia's Pacific and Caribbean, but never in Venezuelan waters.
He also denied the alleged Venezuelan origin of the two airplanes loaded of cocaine which were detained in Guinea Bissau, explaining that those have US number plates and that there were in fact some people with Venezuelan nationality among the crewmen.
Likewise, Rodriguez Chacin affirmed that another airplane involved on drug trafficking was detained in Sierra Leone, and it did depart from Venezuela.
'Certainly, the airplane detained in Sierra Leone departed from Venezuela. We recognize it and we are investigating about it. There is one person arrested with Venezuelan nationality, another with US nationality, and we have been informed that authorities from that country, Sierra Leone, might be involved on the case,' he expressed.
Local numbers
Regarding statistics of the National Anti Drug Office (ONA, by its Spanish abbreviation), the amount of confiscations up to the date add up to 29,475 kilos (29.5 tons). 65% of that figure corresponds to cocaine.
Until July 2007, security bodies had made the same with 27 tons confiscated, approximately.
The Minister also mentioned the indicators about the Plan of Inspection over Chemical Substances, denominated 'precursory substances', those used to produce psychotropic substances.
Thus, he explained that during the first half year of 2008, 197,751.42 kilos of precursory substances were confiscated, 113 companies and 400 officials were supervised.
The previous figures, corresponding to the half period of 2008, surpass the figures of the whole 2007, when there were confiscated 178,348 kilos of substances, 108 companies and employees, and 50 officials were supervised.
