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Venezuela Fights to Stop Drug Trafficking in the American Continent

In this brief video, the Venezuelan Minister of Interior and Justice, Tarek El Aissami, reacts to repeated U.S. accusations that Venezuela is not doing enough to stop drug trafficking in the American continent. 

https://youtu.be/dbJ2FlYyjs8

In this brief video by Press TV, the Venezuelan Minister of Interior and Justice, Tarek El Aissami, reacts to repeated U.S. accusations that Venezuela is not doing enough to stop drug trafficking in the American continent. 

The minister has said that the DEA’s support is no longer needed and that Venezuela in turn is willing to help the U.S. or any other country to reduce drug trafficking rates. 

According to El Aissami, one year after the Venezuelan government broke relations with the DEA in 2004, drug seizures doubled and important chiefs of drug cartels were captured. El Aissami has also said that this separation from the U.S. has allowed the government to improve anti-drug policies. Now communities have become a key factor to draw a new sovereign plan which does not obey foreign guidelines. 

EL Aissami has informed that more than 46 million dollars were invested in 2010 to fight drug trafficking in Venezuela. This year, the recently created National Anti-Drug Fund has allocated more than 116 million dollars on community prevention projects and to strengthen organisations that work towards eradicating drug trafficking. 

El Aissimi has assured that Venezuela has signed more than 30 international cooperation agreements of shared responsibility. He also said that while the DEA was operating in Venezuela they wanted to set up an operations base in the country to practice espionage, as well as paying witnesses with shares from seized drugs. 

The Venezuelan government considers that the U.S. has a bigger share of responsibility in stimulating drug trafficking operations since Venezuela is not a drug producing country, while most of the drugs produced in the world end up in the hands of American citizens.