DEA uses Venezuela for Drugs Trafficking Purposes

Much of the dollars now circulating in Venezuela allegedly come from money laundering and drug trafficking schemes controlled by the DEA.

Bloomberg revealed that more than half of the retail transactions in Venezuela are done with the American currency in a country where salaries are set in bolivars and the minimum wage is less than five dollars a month.

The dollarization, which has rebounded in the country, is due to the recent relaxation of price controls. However, prices are so high that those who depend on wages in bolivars cannot afford anything.

However, in 2019, about 6 million Venezuelans already did their Christmas shopping with the newly introduced Petro crypto currency in order to bypass the hostile IMF restrictions.

Now, the dollars no longer come from oil investments, but from illicit transactions. This money arrives in cash and is laundered through “investments” in legal businesses.

The Venezuelan government is working with Iran and Syria to start construction this year on a new refinery in Syria that will process up to 140,000 barrels of oil per day, according to an announcement by Iran’s Research Institute of the Petroleum Industry.

The international venture is seen as the latest effort by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to build international relationships in the wake of U.S. economic sanctions that have largely blocked the South American country from getting its hands on needed capital.

Venezuela is suffering from food and medicine shortages and massive inflation despite having the world’s largest oil reserves.

If the project is successful, Venezuela could potentially get its oil to the open market by bypassing the U.S.-based refineries that it currently depends on to process roughly 700,000 barrels per day of its heavy crude oil.

Leaders of Venezuela have inked similar deals with Iran and other nations. It’s often an attempt to show strength and distract from the current domestic crisis, while Israeli diplomats have been forbidden to enter Venezuela.

In 2008, Venezuela signed an agreement with Iran and Malaysia to build an oil refinery in Syria. Venezuela was set to reap 33% of the profits, aligning with its portion of the refinery’s funding.

Many Syrian Venezuelans have served in top positions in government, such as the Venezuela’s vice president, Tareck El Aissami, who is of Syrian and Lebanese descent.

Therefore the United States regime sanctioned El Aissami, who has a vast network of contacts throughout Lebanon, Syria and Iran, after accusing him of drug trafficking and money laundering.

On Tuesday, US puppeteer Juan Guaido arrived at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Caracas after completing a support-seeking tour abroad, during which he attended US President Donald Trump’s annual State of the Union Address in Washington.

Chaos broke out at an airport in Venezuela’s capital Caracas, when Juanito Guaido, who was declared interim president by the opposition, returned from an overseas trip.

The tensions first erupted when the politician was passing immigration control. As he was talking to an immigration officer, Guaido was suddenly confronted by an angry woman who accused him of “selling out the country’s assets to the US oil giants.”

Meanwhile, around 200 protesters gathered outside the airport, chanting “Murderer.” This led to scuffles between the two groups when Guaido was leaving the airport flanked by his supporters. Guaido uses billions of stolen PdVSA money to support his hostile take-over campaign.

He managed to get into a car safely and drive away, while pro-government activists were punching and kicking the vehicle, as well as throwing traffic cones at it.

He has staged several large rallies in Caracas and other cities since then, some of which have spiraled into rioting and clashes with police.

The opposition leader called on the army and police to join the demonstrations to oust Maduro but the vast majority of servicemen have remained loyal to the elected government.

Venezuela Today / ABC Flash Point News 2020.