Chavez Accuses U.S. Drug Agents of Spying
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez accused the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration of using its agents for espionage and said his nation was suspending cooperation with the agency.
Chavez criticized U.S. policy on drugs, saying that although the United States was the world’s top consumer of drugs, its government was doing little to lessen consumption. He acknowledged that Venezuela was a major transit point for Colombian cocaine moving to the U.S. and Europe, but he said his country’s armed forces had made advances against trafficking.
U.S. Ambassador William Brownfield said last week that only drug traffickers would benefit from a suspension of Venezuela’s work with the DEA.
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