The U.S. military has killed at least 21 people in recent strikes on small boats off the coast of Venezuela — attacks President Donald Trump says are part of an "armed conflict" with drug cartels. But according to data and experts cited by The New York Times, the operation is unlikely to significantly disrupt the flow of cocaine or fentanyl into the United States, since Venezuela plays only a marginal role in the global drug trade.
Available evidence shows that most cocaine entering the U.S. does not pass through Venezuelan waters. Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia produce nearly all of the world's cocaine, and most of it is trafficked through the Pacific Ocean, not the Caribbean, according to U.S. and U.N. data compiled by NYT.
