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Venezuela Arrests 46, Seizes 1.2 Tons of Cocaine
Latin American Herald Tribune
July 26, 2009

CARACAS -- Venezuelan authorities arrested 46 people allegedly linked to Mexican drug traffickers and seized 1.2 tons of cocaine on Sunday, Interior Minister Tarek El Aissami said.

"We were actually dealing with intelligence ahead of time ... about an organization with links to Mexican cartels ... and this morning they finally made this important seizure of more than one ton of suspected cocaine," the interior minister told state-owned VTV television.

The National Guard conducted the anti-drug operation in Puerto Cabello, a city in the north-central state of Carabobo, El Aissami said.

"This is a hard blow against the criminal organizations that want to use our territory for drug trafficking," the interior minister said, adding that "with this seizure, nearly 31,000 kilograms of different types of drugs have been seized so far this year."

El Aissami told the National Assembly in a July 21 address that President Hugo Chavez's administration was committed to fighting the illegal drug trade, noting that 30 tons of drugs had been seized up to that point in 2009.

The interior minister told legislators that drug seizures had "tripled" in Venezuela since Chavez scrapped an agreement four years ago with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

In July 2005, Chavez ordered the suspension of Venezuela's cooperation agreement with the DEA after accusing U.S. drug enforcement agents of acting as political spies and of being involved in drug trafficking.

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