President Donald Trump has linked his administration’s attacks on drug vessels in Latin America to the fentanyl crisis, among other drugs. H
"IS VENEZUELA A PRIMARY DRUG TRAFFICKER TO THE U.S.?"
According to the above article by Susie Webb:
While Venezuela is a player in cocaine manufacturing and trafficking, drug seizure data shows that it's not as prominent a supplier of cocaine to the U.S. as other South American and Latin American countries. [emphasis added] There is also no evidence that any significant level of illegal fentanyl — the primary killer in U.S. overdose deaths — is produced in South America, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). [emphasis added]
AN INTERACTIVE MAP OF COCAINE TRAFFICKING ROUTES
The article has a great interactive map that shows the cocaine trafficking routes by water, land, and air in the Americas. As we examine the maps below, it will be clear that Venezuela is not a major trafficker of cocaine, compared to some other countries, and its only direct route to the U.S. for cocaine is via air NOT water.
Cocaine Trafficking Via Water: Webb points out that "there is no known direct cocaine trade route from Venezuela to the U.S. via sea."
Water Trafficking in the Americas/Focus on Venezuela: Above left is a screenshot of the interactive map depicting cocaine trafficking routes by water from ALL North & South American countries of origin. Above right is a closeup of the cocaine trafficking routes by water originating in Venezuela. As can be seen, there is very little cocaine trafficking by Venezuela via water and no direct route to the U.S.
Cocaine Trafficking Via Air: Webb states: "The only known direct Venezuela to U.S. trafficking route is via air."
Air Cocaine Trafficking in the Americas/Focus on Venezuela: Above left is a map depicting cocaine trafficking routes by air from ALL North & South American countries of origin. Above right is a closeup of the cocaine trafficking routes by air originating in Venezuela. As can be seen, there IS a direct trafficking route for cocaine by air from Venezuela to the US. But as USA Today points out, Venezuela is still not a major trafficker of cocaine to the U.S.
Cocaine Trafficking Via Land: There is no direct land route to the U.S. from Venezuela.
Land Cocaine Trafficking in the Americas/Focus on Venezuela: Above left is a map depicting cocaine trafficking routes by land from ALL North & South American countries of origin. Above right is a closeup of the cocaine trafficking routes by land originating in Venezuela. As can be seen there is relatively little cocaine trafficking by Venezuela via land and no direct route to the U.S.
___________________ Note. The map screenshots were modified from the original interactive source. Some subtitles were added as well as the red circles to focus in on Venezuela cocaine trafficking routes.
[See more charts under the cut.]
