SALON

Thursday, Mar 7, 2013 1:00 PM UTC

Will Chavez’s death improve drug war diplomacy?

The U.S. hopes the Venezuelan president's successor will be more cooperative in combatting cocaine trafficking

By

Topics: The Fix, Hugo Chavez, South America, Cocaine, The War on Drugs, Venezuela,

Will Chavez's death improve drug war diplomacy?Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez speaks during a nationally televised speech in the Presidential Palace of Miraflores in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, April 26, 1999. (Credit: AP/Fernando Llano)
This article originally appeared on The Fix.


the fix
 After the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, some are optimistic about the country improving cooperation with the US in the fight against drug trafficking. Despite the infamous photo of Chavez and President Barack Obama smiling and shaking hands at the 2009 Summit of the Americas, US officials say that relations with Venezuela are at a low point since each country rejected the others’ ambassador in 2010. Last October, Obama also accused Venezuela of “failing to meet its obligation” on combatting drug trafficking. The nation has become a major drug hub since Chavez took power, and analysts believe as much as 25% of the cocaine that enters the US comes from Venezuela. The US Treasury Department has blacklisted seven current and former Venezuelan officials, including former Defense Minister Henry Rangel Silva, because of suspected ties to drug-dealing Colombian insurgents. And although several senior officials in the country say drug corruption is weakening the government, other high level officials are suspected of making millions off the trade. “People in very important positions in government are getting rich, so if change comes, it’s probably going to be very, very gradual,” says Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue think tank in Washington.

But although progress on tackling the country’s drug trade is slow, there are some indicators of change. Venezuelan vice president Nicolas Maduro, Chavez’s designated heir, began talks last November with Roberta Jacobson, assistant secretary of State for Latin America. The country has also cooperated with the US on several drug-related issues, including the extradition to Colombia of several drug kingpins. However, the tension between the two countries remains palpable; Maduro implied yesterday on national television that the US was at fault for Chavez’s illness. He intends to set up a scientific commission to investigate the issue.

More McCarton Ackerman.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
    Credit: AP/LM Otero

  • Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
    Credit: AP/Matt Rourke

  • A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
    Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher

  • Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
    Credit: AP/Molly Riley

  • Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
    Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite

  • Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
    Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

  • O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
    Credit: AP/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Jeff Scheid

  • Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
    Credit: AP/NASA/Chris Hadfield

  • When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
    Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin

  • A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
    Credit: AP/The Duluth News-Tribune/Clint Austin

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 6 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

Salon is proud to feature content from The Fix, the world's leading website on addiction and recovery. The site features a daily mix of breaking news, leading columnists, investigative reports, celebrity interviews, features on health, science and sober living, independent rehab reviews and hundreds of treatment resources.

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: So long, Sookie Stackhouse

Recommendations