07/08/09
Venezuela is on alert in the fight against drugs
The office for the Deputy Minister for European Affairs of the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent out a report which explains in detail the plan of action of the Bolivarian Government to fight against drug trafficking and consumption of illicit drugs in Venezuela.
Because of the bad press Venezuela has received lately regarding its record against drug trafficking, it is very important to inform people about the efforts and achievements of the Venezuelan government in this area.
In order to strengthen the commitment between the State, the communities and the business sectors in their actions to fight drug trafficking, Venezuela has launched the National Anti-Drugs Plan 2009-2013 and also the National Anti-Drugs Fund.
This report highlights the achievements Venezuela has made, which proves that Venezuela is not by any means a narco-state, as the mainstream media has reported.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC, has rated Venezuela for the past four years among the nations in the world with the highest level of drug seizures. These reports by the UNODC contradict the series of reports by the US Congress and the US Drug Enforcement Agency, DEA, which say otherwise.
Following you can read the full report which highlights Venezuela’s government strategies against drug trafficking.
PREVENTION AND FIGHT AGAINST DRUGS AND PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES BY THE GOVERNMENT OF THE BOLIVARIAN REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA
In order to intensify the fight against the problems caused by illegal use, consumption and trafficking of chemical substances, narcotics and
psychotropic substances, as well as to protect our sovereignty and our community; the Bolivarian Government has designed, drawn up and approved an action plan aimed at effectively encouraging the active involvement of the State, communities and business sectors in the challenges that result nowadays from the geopolitical location of our country before the threats of illegal trafficking and drug consumption.
The President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela approved on 1st July of this current year, the creation of the National Anti-drugs Plan 2009-2013 and the National Anti-drugs Fund, in order to strengthen the commitment between the State, the communities and the business sector, to join forces aiming at prevention, surveillance, control and supervision of chemical essential and precursor substances.
The aforementioned plan consists of eight significant areas, such as: educative, communal, work-related, special needs that include disable people, bordering communities, boys, girls and teenagers. Likewise, it covers three strategic levels: Centre of Family Guidance, Specialist Centre of Prevention, Protection and Full Care and Socialist and Therapeutic Communities, in order to rehabilitate patients and to reintroduce them into society.
The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela within the framework of fighting this scourge and with the aim of counteracting the sources of opinion that attempt to classify Venezuela as a “drug-trafficking state”; through the President of the National Anti-drug Office (ONA), Colonel Nestor Luis Reverol Torres, carried out an exhibition before the National Assembly on 20th July, which illustrates in an explicit way the efforts made by Venezuela in regards to the effective fight against drugs. To sum up, the most important points raised before the Assembly were:
The United Nations (UN) has placed the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela for a period of four consecutive years, including 2009, within the first places of the list of countries with the largest number of cocaine confiscation around the world; and as a result the theory of the Department of State, which holds that most of the drugs produced in Colombia go through Venezuela, is rejected, since 69% of the cocaine produced in that country, goes out through the eastern coasts of the Pacific, and Venezuela’s coasts are not on the Pacific. Likewise, the last report of the UN in terms of drugs, published in June 2009, recognizes the implementation of the appropriate policies by the Venezuelan Government, in agreement with the opinion of the Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission of the Organization of American States (OAS).
Among the measures unfolded during the development of power of the Commander President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, and carried out through the Security Agencies with subject competence: Ministry of Popular Power for Interior Affairs and Justice – MPPRIJ, Bolivarian Armed Forces- FAB- ONA, Department of Scientific, Criminal and Criminology Investigation, CICPC, among others, the following could be highlighted:
· 464 tons of drugs have been confiscated in the last 10 yeas. This has been possible through the international cooperation between Venezuela and other countries.
· For 20 years, the existence of illegal plantations on the Colombian-Venezuelan border has been controlled by the Sierra Operation, which has been strengthen on the Venezuelan borders during the last 10 years, and right now there aren’t any illegal drug plantations.
· Acquisition and installation of a Chinese system of radars (10) to keep watch on the Venezuelan airspace. This purchase was necessary after the withdrawal of the Drug Enforcement Agency from our country, in 2005, since this American division has taken its Westinghouse radars when left. The new system of Chinese radars made it possible to seize 25 airplanes in Venezuelan territory during 2009.
· The Bolivarian Armed Forces and other security agencies have dismantled 13 drug laboratories on the frontier with Colombia in 2007, as well as 10 labs in 2008 and 19 in 2009 up to now.
· Arrest followed by deportation of five drug leaders wanted by INTERPOL, between 2005 and first half of 2009.
· More than 10 clandestine airports used for drug smuggling have been found and destroyed between 2005 and 2009.
· 30 tons (30,000 kg) of several drugs have been confiscated in 2009 up to this date, in Venezuelan territory.
· 3,722 people have been held responsible in 2009 for drug-trafficking related crimes. 194 are foreigners and 54% of this 194 are Colombian.
· 11,816 metric tones of chemical and precursor substances (diverted from the legal industrial park to manufacture and process drugs) have been withheld in 2009 through the Operation Plan for Control of Essential and Precursor Chemicals.
· Two hundred million of bolivares fuertes (200,000,000 BsF), have been seized in terms of drug trafficking in 2009, in addition to 181 assets, that have been passed on to other governmental agencies.
· The National Executive Division has approved the National Anti-drugs Plan 2009-2013. This plan includes the communities participation and the preventive plan Sowing Values for Life, which is structured in eight action areas: Educative, Communal, Work-related, Special Needs, Communicative, Preventive Projects, Follow-up and Control and Treatment, Rehabilitation and Reintegration into Society. Through the enforcement of this plan, the following has been achieved:
- Creation of a national anti-drugs network, where the organized communities choose their leaders for the anti-drug campaign. Up to now 14 agreements with Governments and 186 with different Town Halls have been undersigned. It is estimated that by 2012 5 million social leaders would be formed.
- Purchase of 14 scout planes K-8 made in China, in order to intercept illegal flights and carry out similar tasks. Those airplanes will get to Venezuela by 2010.
- Building of 10 incineration ovens in the whole of the country.
- Installation of non-intrusive baggage screening systems in five airports of the country ( there are plans to install the same systems in all other airports). Besides, the installation of mobile and fixed systems for non-intrusive inspection (X ray screening) of containers at the harbours.
- Acquisition of 120 vehicles for comprehensive social prevention and 17 trucks that travel around to provide support for schools, community councils and various scheme programs for the preventive plan Sowing values for Life.
- Institutional Strength. Provision of the Bolivarian National Guard Drug Laboratory (GNB) and of the Criminology labs of the Body for Scientific, Criminal and Criminology Investigation (CICPC).
- National manufacture of the orientation test, a kit of chemicals to determine if the confiscated substance is a drug and identify what type of drug; as replacement of the Narcotest (Commercial brand) kit which was sold by the United States and which was suspended after the withdrawal of the DEA from Venezuela.
- Legal Framework: The ONA applied to the Superior Court of Justice (TSJ) for special jurisdiction on Drugs, which is made up of judges exclusively devoted to drug-dealing and drug-trafficking cases.