Venezuela not a major drug source, experts say

Experts have questioned whether the Latin American country is actually a major source of drugs in the United States.

Jonathan Winer, a former senior US diplomat, told The New York Times that the cocaine moving through Venezuela likely accounts for less than 10 percent of the drug exported to the United States.

Phil Gunson, senior analyst for the Andes Region at International Crisis Group, told PolitiFact that the US administration conflated several situations to conclude that a cartel runs Venezuela in order to justify US military action.

There is no evidence to suggest that Venezuela's government is engaged in a war of terror against the US, or that it is using drugs and violent criminals to undermine the US, Gunson said.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were forcibly captured by US military forces during a raid on Caracas early Saturday morning.

The charges against them include narco-terrorism, cocaine importation and possession of machine guns and destructive devices.

US authorities alleged that Maduro and his family helped cartels such as Tren de Aragua move as much as 250 metric tons of cocaine through Venezuela a year, according to the indictment, adding that the drugs were moved on fast vessels, fishing boats and container ships, or on planes from clandestine airstrips, the indictment says.

Classified assessment

However, according to a classified assessment from the National Intelligence Council released in April, no coordination between Tren de Aragua and the Venezuelan government was found, The Associated Press reported.

The assessment drew from 18 agencies that comprise the intelligence community.

It repeatedly stated that Tren de Aragua is not coordinated with or supported by Venezuela's president or senior officials in the government.

While it found minimal contact between some members of the gang and low-level members of the government, there was a consensus that there was no coordination or direct role between the gang and the government, The Associated Press reported.

According to The New York Times, Venezuela is not a major source of drugs in the US. It does not produce fentanyl or cocaine, narcotics experts said. "Venezuela is more of a transshipment point to Europe, and that doesn't necessarily make it our problem in exactly the same way," Annie Pforzheimer, a former senior US diplomat who specialized in counter-narcotics and Venezuela, told The New York Times.