US Removes Venezuela from Drug Trafficking List; Colombia Under Scrutiny

White House Removes Venezuela from Drug List, May Also Drop Colombia

The White House removed Venezuela from its list of major drug transit or major illicit drug producing countries for fiscal year 2027. US President Donald Trump cited “positive steps taken under interim President Delcy Rodríguez” as the basis for the decision, stating that Venezuela “should no longer be designated as having failed demonstrably to fulfill its drug control commitments.”

InSight Crime’s investigations indicate that a significant portion of South American cocaine flows through Venezuela, leveraging its extensive coastline and porous borders. Cocaine is transported via the Caribbean to Trinidad and Tobago before reaching consumers in the United States and Europe. Despite this, Trump suggested that Colombia is “poised to resume its place as our foremost security partner in the hemisphere” under new leadership.

Maduro’s Financial Representative Pleads Guilty in Miami

Alex Saab, the Colombian-born businessman alleged to be a financial proxy for former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, pleaded guilty to money laundering charges in a Miami court. He admitted to organizing bribes to secure contracts under Venezuela’s state-funded food and medicine program, agreeing to forfeit $195 million and cooperate with ongoing investigations. Saab was deported to the U.S. by interim President Delcy Rodríguez after being pardoned and returned to Venezuela earlier this year.

According to AP, U.S. officials may seek Saab’s cooperation to build cases against Maduro, who was arrested in a U.S.-backed operation in Caracas in January and faces charges including narco-terrorism and cocaine trafficking. InSight Crime’s coverage details shifts in Venezuela’s criminal landscape following Maduro’s arrest, including government purges, mining operations, and joint U.S. efforts against the Claritas Sindicato and Tren de Aragua.

Organized Crime Linked to Majority of Land Defender Assassinations

Organized crime or contract killers were implicated in over one-third of global land and environmental defender killings in 2025, making criminal actors the most frequently cited perpetrators. Latin America accounted for 85% of these deaths, with Colombia identified as the region’s deadliest country. InSight Crime’s analysis highlights how armed groups exploit conflicts over natural resources, targeting individuals who oppose illegal activities like mining and logging.

Criminal organizations operate in two primary ways: directly targeting environmental defenders, and indirectly through legal system corruption. In the Amazon, groups exploit weak governance to conduct unauthorized extraction, while investigations in Honduras reveal how extractive industries capture regulators and prosecutors, enabling uninvestigated killings.

Shield of the Americas Coalition Expands Amid Strategic Uncertainty

Peru joined the U.S.-led Shield of the Americas security initiative ahead of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s regional tour, with Chilean President José Antonio Kast indicating his nation would remain an observer. Joint military exercises near Tarapoto, Peru, involving U.S., Argentine, and Chilean forces, underscored the coalition’s operational ambitions. However, analysts note a lack of defined objectives beyond drug trafficking and “narco-terrorism,” with no formal operational plans or obligations established for member states.

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