The United States is building up its military assets, sparking fears of another regime change attempt against Venezuela—and this one could be far more deadly than the others. Citing an influx of Venezuelan drugs into the U.S., the Trump administration is rapidly building up its military forces, encircling the South American nation, one which has been in Washington’s crosshairs for over a quarter of a century. MintPress News explores Trump’s extraordinary claims and assesses the history of U.S. efforts to overthrow the Venezuelan government.
by Alan Macleod
Part 3 - The US and Drugs: a Dirty History
The illicit drug market in the U.S. is worth hundreds of billions of dollars annually. The U.S. is the largest consumer of illegal drugs, as well as a major supplier of the chemicals and fertilizers needed to produce them in the first place.
In a recent interview, President Maduro claimed that most of the profits from the trade stay in the U.S. “Eighty-five percent of the billions from international drug trafficking each year are in banks in the United States. That is where the cartel is; let them investigate and uncover it,” he said, adding:
There is $500 billion in the U.S. banking system, in reputable banks. If they want to investigate a cartel, let them investigate the one up north. It is from the United States that all drug trafficking is directed towards South America and the rest of the world. They also control the opium trade, and more. It is in the United States where the mafias are, where the real cartels operate.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio responded during a visit to Ecuador, telling reporters, “I don’t care what the U.N. says. The U.N. doesn’t know what they are talking about.” In his explanation, he implied that local U.S. laws supersede international law, stating that:
In a recent interview, President Maduro claimed that most of the profits from the trade stay in the U.S. “Eighty-five percent of the billions from international drug trafficking each year are in banks in the United States. That is where the cartel is; let them investigate and uncover it,” he said, adding:
There is $500 billion in the U.S. banking system, in reputable banks. If they want to investigate a cartel, let them investigate the one up north. It is from the United States that all drug trafficking is directed towards South America and the rest of the world. They also control the opium trade, and more. It is in the United States where the mafias are, where the real cartels operate.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio responded during a visit to Ecuador, telling reporters, “I don’t care what the U.N. says. The U.N. doesn’t know what they are talking about.” In his explanation, he implied that local U.S. laws supersede international law, stating that:
Maduro has been indicted by a grand jury in the Southern District of New York. That means that the Southern District of New York presented the evidence to a grand jury, and a grand jury indicted him … Let there be no doubt, Nicolás Maduro is an indicted drug trafficker, and he is a fugitive of American justice.
Rubio’s comments were particularly noteworthy, as he made them while in Ecuador, where he was meeting with President Daniel Noboa. As previously noted, the vast majority of South American drugs enter the U.S. via ships from Ecuador.
Even more pertinent is that Noboa himself is directly implicated in the process. The son of the country’s wealthiest billionaire, the young Noboa built his political career on the largesse of his family’s gigantic banana-exporting business. A recent investigation from Colombian magazine, Revista Raya, found that Noboa banana boats were being used to transport vast quantities of cocaine around the world. At just one port in Ecuador, police seized 700 kilograms of cocaine from Noboa family ships.
Rubio’s comments were particularly noteworthy, as he made them while in Ecuador, where he was meeting with President Daniel Noboa. As previously noted, the vast majority of South American drugs enter the U.S. via ships from Ecuador.
Even more pertinent is that Noboa himself is directly implicated in the process. The son of the country’s wealthiest billionaire, the young Noboa built his political career on the largesse of his family’s gigantic banana-exporting business. A recent investigation from Colombian magazine, Revista Raya, found that Noboa banana boats were being used to transport vast quantities of cocaine around the world. At just one port in Ecuador, police seized 700 kilograms of cocaine from Noboa family ships.
Yet, unlike Maduro, Noboa is a key U.S. ally and has ensured, when governing, to prioritize Washington’s interests above all.
These connections are unlikely to trouble Rubio, whose own family is deeply intertwined with the world of drug smuggling. Rubio’s brother-in-law, Orlando Cicilia, is a former drug runner who served 12 years in a Florida prison for crimes related to the smuggling and distribution of cocaine. Rubio maintains a close relationship with Cicilia; after the latter’s release from prison, he used his political position to pressure a Florida regulator to grant him a real estate license. Across much of Latin America, the Secretary of State has long been known by critics as “Narco Rubio.”
These connections are unlikely to trouble Rubio, whose own family is deeply intertwined with the world of drug smuggling. Rubio’s brother-in-law, Orlando Cicilia, is a former drug runner who served 12 years in a Florida prison for crimes related to the smuggling and distribution of cocaine. Rubio maintains a close relationship with Cicilia; after the latter’s release from prison, he used his political position to pressure a Florida regulator to grant him a real estate license. Across much of Latin America, the Secretary of State has long been known by critics as “Narco Rubio.”
The history of drugs and U.S. regime change operations is well documented, with Washington using the illicit drug trade to topple governments it does not approve of, and turning a blind eye to the actions of those under its control.
In 2014, Juan Orlando Hernández came to power in Honduras following a U.S.-backed coup that removed the democratically elected leftist president, Manuel Zelaya, from power. Hernández quickly began using his position to enrich himself, allying with the infamous Sinaloa Cartel. Last year, he was sentenced to 45 years in prison for distributing more than 400 tons of cocaine into the United States. Throughout his crimes, the U.S. government supported his administration, working to ensure the left did not return to power.
Going further back, the Reagan administration funded, trained and armed the Contra death squads in Nicaragua, in an attempt to overthrow the leftist Sandinista Party. Allegations reported by journalists and later examined in official inquiries linked Contra-related networks to cocaine flows into the United States during the 1980s, contributing to the crack epidemic. The Contras used this money to terrorize the country, and eventually ousted the Sandinistas in 1990.
In 2014, Juan Orlando Hernández came to power in Honduras following a U.S.-backed coup that removed the democratically elected leftist president, Manuel Zelaya, from power. Hernández quickly began using his position to enrich himself, allying with the infamous Sinaloa Cartel. Last year, he was sentenced to 45 years in prison for distributing more than 400 tons of cocaine into the United States. Throughout his crimes, the U.S. government supported his administration, working to ensure the left did not return to power.
Going further back, the Reagan administration funded, trained and armed the Contra death squads in Nicaragua, in an attempt to overthrow the leftist Sandinista Party. Allegations reported by journalists and later examined in official inquiries linked Contra-related networks to cocaine flows into the United States during the 1980s, contributing to the crack epidemic. The Contras used this money to terrorize the country, and eventually ousted the Sandinistas in 1990.
At the same time as it was supporting the Contras, the U.S. was arming and training the mujahideen to overthrow the left-wing, Soviet-backed government in Afghanistan. In order to help fund its $2 billion program, the CIA encouraged its allies to grow and traffic opium, leading to a massive spike in consumption around the world. Professor Alfred McCoy, author of “The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade,” explained to MintPress the staggering transformation the country went through:
Afghanistan had about 100 tons of opium produced every year in the 1970s. By 1989-1990, at the end of that 10-year CIA operation, that minimal amount of opium–100 tons per annum–had turned into a major amount, 2,000 tons a year, and was already about 75% of the world’s illicit opium trade.
Thus, across the world, a template emerges; the United States frequently uses drugs and its supposed war against them as a way of supporting its allies and ousting anti-imperial governments.
Afghanistan had about 100 tons of opium produced every year in the 1970s. By 1989-1990, at the end of that 10-year CIA operation, that minimal amount of opium–100 tons per annum–had turned into a major amount, 2,000 tons a year, and was already about 75% of the world’s illicit opium trade.
Thus, across the world, a template emerges; the United States frequently uses drugs and its supposed war against them as a way of supporting its allies and ousting anti-imperial governments.
Rarely does failure to cooperate with U.S. authorities lead to increased levels of drug production. Indeed, the three governments in the region—Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua—which the first Trump administration labeled a “troika of tyranny” (a deliberate allusion to Bush’s “Axis of Evil” designation) are notable as islands of sobriety in a region notorious for its drug production. Additionally, in 2008, Bolivia, then led by socialist president Evo Morales, expelled the DEA from the country, leading to a significant drop in the production of cocaine.
“U.S. allegations are not only laughable but look like projection,” said Joe Emersberger, co-author of “Extraordinary Threat: The U.S. Empire, the Media, and Twenty Years of Coup Attempts in Venezuela,” adding: “The CIA fuelled the drug trade in the streets of Los Angeles in the 1980s to fund the Contras, who were U.S.-backed terrorists it used to attack Nicaragua. And in Afghanistan, under direct U.S. military occupation, opium production exploded after having been eradicated by the Taliban.” Emesberger was highly skeptical of the U.S.’s stated intentions against Venezuela, telling MintPress that:
“U.S. allegations are not only laughable but look like projection,” said Joe Emersberger, co-author of “Extraordinary Threat: The U.S. Empire, the Media, and Twenty Years of Coup Attempts in Venezuela,” adding: “The CIA fuelled the drug trade in the streets of Los Angeles in the 1980s to fund the Contras, who were U.S.-backed terrorists it used to attack Nicaragua. And in Afghanistan, under direct U.S. military occupation, opium production exploded after having been eradicated by the Taliban.” Emesberger was highly skeptical of the U.S.’s stated intentions against Venezuela, telling MintPress that:
Quite simply, step one for Maduro’s government to become a player in the illegal drug trade would be to sell out to Washington. Marco Rubio just travelled to Ecuador, which has become a playground for drug lords, and where President Noboa’s family has been shown to be linked to the drug trade, in order to repeat his allegations against Maduro.
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