Venezuelan VP Claims Drug Seizures Increased Fivefold Since DEA's Exit: 'We Know We Do It Better'

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez (Credit: AFP)

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez said on Monday that local authorities have seized five times more narcotics since U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents left the country in 2005, rejecting U.S. claims that Venezuela has become a hub for cocaine trafficking.

Presenting data at a press conference in Caracas, Rodríguez said Venezuelan forces confiscated 1,054.93 metric tons of drugs between 2005 and 2025, compared with 209.65 tons during the period from 1999 to 2004 when the DEA was operating in the country.