2 months ago
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Alvaro Sánchez Cordero - Venezuela’s ambassador to TT Alvaro Sánchez Cordero has pushed back against claims by US authorities that the South American country is linked to narco-trafficking.
On August 7, the US State Department labelled Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro as the leader of Cartel de los Soles, a drug cartel it claims provides material support to terrorist organizations and gangs including Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel.
It announced a reward of up to $50 million for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction.
Last week, the US government began deploying military assets, including a nuclear submarine and more than 4,000 marines and sailors, to the southern Caribbean sea near Venezuela’s borders.
It said the move was part of an exercise to target terrorist drug cartels operating in the region.
Speaking at a media conference held at the embassy’s Victoria Avenue offices in Port of Spain, Sánchez Cordero described the claims by the US as a “fabrication.”
He said the claims were false and suggested the US was using it as an excuse to send warships to the region as part of its efforts to force regime change in Venezuela.
He pointed to statistics from the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to support his claim.
Noting that Venezuela was not even named as a country of interest in the DEA’s National Drug Threat Assessment 2025, he said the facts do not support the US narrative of Venezuela’s government being linked to a drug cartel.
“It’s simply a creation. It has absolutely no reality.”
Sanchez Cordero added the UNODC’s Word Drug Report 2025 suggested there are no major drug cartels operating in Venezuela.
“The report states from the onset that Venezuela is a country free of drug cultivation. It is a free of drug processing…. and Venezuela is not a major drug trafficking route, neither through air, land or sea.
“For a drug cartel to be a cartel, they have to control those three things… According to the UNODC, none of this appears in Venezuela.”
He said this is supported by the aggressive stance the government has taken toward crime in the country with more than 6,000 people arrested in connection with crime and violence.
“We have seized recently over 480 rifles, 52 tonnes of drugs that comes from Colombia through Venezuela, 94 vessels, five semi-submersibles, 153 tonnes of chemical precursors, 3000 detonators and 1800 metres of detonating cord.
He said security forces also recently seized American-made sniper rifles with silencers capable of shooting people up to a kilometre away.
Sanchez Cordero said the DEA’s National Drug Threat Assessment 2025 did not even mention the Cartel de los Soles, the cartel the US Department of State and Department of Justice have sought to link to Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro of leading.
“The drug trafficking to the US takes place through Central America, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. No reference is made about Venezuela (in the report).
The US Department of the Treasury also designated Cartel de los Soles a specially designated global terrorist (SDGT) but Sanchez Cordero said, “This Cartel de los Soles is nothing but creation, fabrication by the CIA.”
US troop deployment 'false flag' move
He said the Venezuelan economy is flourishing with economic growth and expansion in multiple industries and described the US plans as another “false flag” attempt at destabilising the country.
“We have gone through this so many times it's incredible. We have gone from communists to terrorists to narco drug dealers, you name it. Anything in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) playbook we have been named by the US.”
“They have tried to appoint a fake Venezuelan president, they have created a chaos, disruptions, even killing civilians, they have cut electricity creating blackouts in Venezuela…. But in reality it was economic and psychological warfare.”
He said previous ultimatums by the US have failed and added although he believes this latest US act will meet the same fate, Venezuela is not taking it lightly with a massive recruitment drive for volunteers in a national militia army.
“These are volunteer non-professional soldiers, but it's important. It's a demonstration that the people, the vast majority of Venezuelans reject this type of attempts by the US and support our independence and sovereignty.”
Sanchez Cordero said he was unable to directly address Persad-Bissessar’s support for the move by the US government.
However, asked about TT-Venezuela relations, he said both countries have worked closely in the past with historically “extraordinary relations” and remain friendly.
“We have a lot of potential in terms of trade, commerce, tourism. And, if you ask me how happy I am in this beautiful country, I'm the happiest person in TT along with my family. And that's the attitude that we continue to maintain, no matter how difficult certain situations may be.
“We are happy and confident that, both countries are rich in terms of our family ties, our culture and our history. And it's a delight to be able to serve in this twin-island, state, and to continue doing so no matter what the circumstances are.”
English (US) ·