Anti-narcotics experts have stated that Venezuela’s role in global drug trafficking is relatively small, serving primarily as a transit point for narcotics produced elsewhere. Neighboring Colombia remains the world’s largest cocaine producer, but most of its output reaches the United States through routes other than Venezuela. According to a 2020 report by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), about three-quarters of the cocaine entering the U.S. travels via the Pacific Ocean, with only a small portion coming through the Caribbean.

Although earlier U.S. operations targeted Caribbean routes, recent enforcement efforts have shifted focus to the Pacific. In September, former U.S. President Donald Trump told military leaders that intercepted boats carried bags of white powder, mainly fentanyl and other drugs. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid about 50 times stronger than heroin, has become a leading cause of overdose deaths in the U.S. On December 15, Trump issued an executive order designating fentanyl as a “weapon of mass destruction.”

However, the DEA’s 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment did not identify Venezuela as a source of fentanyl trafficked into the United States, noting that the drug is primarily produced in Mexico and smuggled across the southern border by land.