Maduro sets up superintendent office to fight drug smuggling

TEHRAN (Defapress) - To strengthen the crackdown on drug trafficking in South America, Venezuelan government ordered the establishment of the National Anti-Drug Superintendent´s Office in this country.

News ID: 83043

Date: 21 February 2021 - 00:45

On Friday, Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro established by executive decree the National Anti-Drug Superintendent´s Office aimed at strengthening the crackdown on drug trafficking in the South American nation, Prensa Latina reported.

In a meeting with senior officials from the Bolivarian National Armed Forces and the Ministry of Interior, the president reported on the appointment of Major General Richard López to head the institution to fight drug trafficking.

Maduro ordered coordination between the Superintendent's Office and other State institutions to promote prevention policies to reduce the consumption of hallucinogenic substances in the country by using educational and recreational actions.

He also underscored the Bolivarian government's commitment to reinforce operations to capture and intercept drug shipments in Venezuela, all of which come from Colombia, where Colombian drug cartels try to use Venezuelan territory to move at least 8% of their production to major markets in the United States and Europe.

After the expulsion of the US Drug Control Administration in 2005, Venezuela increased raids against drug trafficking, seizing as many as 813 tons of drugs to date.