Venezuelan Minister of Interior, Justice and Peace Diosdado Cabello said Wednesday that a series of operations succeeded in “pulverizing” corridors used by drug traffickers, especially those linking Colombia’s Catatumbo region with Lake Maracaibo and the Caribbean, leading to the arrest of numerous suspects. File Photo by Miguel Gutierrez/EPA
Jan. 15 (UPI) — The Venezuelan government said it dismantled the country’s main drug trafficking logistics routes during 2025, particularly in the western state of Zulia.
Minister of Interior, Justice and Peace Diosdado Cabello said during a conference broadcast on state television channel VTV Wednesday that a series of operations succeeded in “pulverizing” corridors used by drug traffickers, especially those linking Colombia’s Catatumbo region with Lake Maracaibo and the Caribbean, leading to the arrest of numerous suspects.
Those detained include former members of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces, police officers, judges and mayors, who authorities accuse of facilitating drug trafficking.
Cabello also said that since cooperation with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration was suspended, more than 400 aircraft linked to drug trafficking have been neutralized. He added that the government focused its efforts on dismantling maritime infrastructure on Lake Maracaibo, which authorities consider key to moving large drug shipments.
According to a recent investigation by Colombian news outlet Noticias Caracol, a 2020 recording and a set of intelligence documents have again placed alleged ties between Colombian armed groups and sectors of the Venezuelan regime at the center of public debate.
The video contains references to alliances, contacts and operations linked to drug trafficking and weapons, including mentions of Venezuelans, both military and political, particularly in border areas where illegal economies, territorial control and drug routes converge.
In addition, Colombian authorities reportedly have dozens of other emails and documents attributed to leaders of the National Liberation Army, or ELN, and commanders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, operating in Venezuela.
The recording framed the episode within the dispute for control of drug trafficking along the Colombia-Venezuela border, where the ELN and FARC dissident groups are engaged in armed confrontation, according to local outlet El Colombiano.
The ELN’s presence in Venezuelan territory would date back decades, according to an article published by Cambio magazine in October 2025. The armed group is believed to have found areas of refuge and operation in states such as Apure, Zulia and Amazonas, a thesis discussed by analysts and organizations in recent years.
A 2020 report by the non-governmental organization Indepaz about the presence of armed groups also documented the persistence and expansion of these structures in border regions, indicating the phenomenon was a regional security problem.
An investigative article published by Colombian newspaper El Tiempo on Jan. 7 reported that U.S. authorities possess documents and evidence as part of a judicial case file describing alleged links between Cabello, considered the “second in command” of President Nicolás Maduro’s government, and international drug trafficking activities, including connections with Colombian illegal armed groups and Mexican criminal networks.
According to the report, the U.S. case file does not refer solely to a historical episode, but outlines a long-standing scheme in which Cabello allegedly exerted influence over Venezuela’s security and intelligence sectors.
This influence would have facilitated drug trafficking operations and cooperation with groups such as the ELN and FARC dissidents in border areas.
The allegations reportedly involve formal accusations and judicial documents, though not final convictions. However, the investigation notes that these claims form part of ongoing inquiries that the United States has used to keep Cabello on lists of accused individuals and under sanctions.
