FUGITIVE TRAFFICKERS FROM COLOMBIA FIND SAFETY IN VENEZUELA

Venezuela Has Become the Safe Haven of Choice for Drug Traffickers On
the Run From Neighboring Colombia.

CARACAS - Venezuela is becoming a refuge for Colombian drug
traffickers seeking to avoid capture in their neighboring homeland,
according to several Venezuelan and foreign counter-drug officials.

The traffickers, who include at least three top leaders of Colombia's
notorious North Valley Cartel, may be taking advantage of Venezuela's
limited drug cooperation with Washington amid the heated political
clash between President Hugo Chavez and the Bush administration,
analysts say.

They also may be trying to stay on top of their exports to Europe, the
destination of the vast majority of the Colombian cocaine passing
through Venezuela, the analysts and officials added. Traffickers
sending drugs to Europe can avoid violating U.S. laws and facing
feared U.S. requests for their extraditions.

"They're coming here to avoid extradition, to avoid law enforcement
in their own country because it's more stringent," said one foreign
counter-drug official who asked for anonymity because of the
sensitivity of the issue. "And this is a new market, a new
opportunity."

Seizure Statistics

Venezuela has long been a transit point for illegal drugs leaving
Colombia. But the government's own statistics on seizures show a
massive increase under Chavez -- from 12,151 kilograms in 1999 to
31,222 in 2004 and 44,571 this year through mid-September.

The list of prominent suspected traffickers who have sought refuge in
Venezuela includes three Colombian members of the North Valley cartel
who are on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list, three U.S. and Colombian
counter-drug officials have told The Herald. They are Wilber Varela,
nicknamed Soap; Juan Carlos Ramirez-Abadia, also known as Lollipop;
and Diego Montoya, alias Don Diego. The FBI is offering up to $5
million for information leading to the capture of any of the three.

Another cartel member, Hernando Gomez, was captured in Cuba last year
with a false Venezuelan passport, the counter-drug officials noted.
Gomez remains jailed in Cuba on unclear charges, although Colombia has
asked for his extradition. Gomez also is wanted in the United States.

Passports for Sale

One former senior Venezuelan counter-drug official cited credible
reports that the country's immigration officials had sold Venezuelan
passports to drug traffickers for up to $1 million apiece. The
official requested anonymity out of fear of reprisals.

There is no evidence the Chavez administration approves of the
presence of these drug lords, who also spend time in Colombia and
other countries.

Venezuela's counter-drug agency, known as CONACUID for its Spanish
acronym, did not respond to repeated requests by The Herald for
comment. But Venezuelan authorities have insisted that the increased
seizures illustrate their resolve in fighting drugs. And this week, a
Venezuelan judge ordered the arrest of 14 police officers here for
trafficking three tons of cocaine.

The drug traffickers' increased use of Venezuela as a safe haven and
transit point comes as the Chavez and Bush governments trade mutual
accusations of interventionism in the region that have spilled over
into the field of counter-drug cooperation.

U.S. Rebuffed

In August, the Venezuelan government announced it would no longer
cooperate with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and accused
its agents stationed here of espionage. Venezuela also has long barred
U.S. counter-drug surveillance airplanes from patrolling its airspace,
and Chavez has not extradited any drug trafficker wanted by the U.S.
government despite several requests.

Washington denied the allegations against the DEA and shortly
afterward revoked the U.S. visas of three high-ranking Venezuelan
National Guard officers, including the former head of the Guard's
anti-drug unit, on suspicion of helping drug traffickers. A month
later, the U.S. government removed Caracas from its list of allies in
the war on drugs.

'Doesn't Seem Unique'

Some analysts caution that drug seizures have been rising throughout
the hemisphere -- speculating that the complaints of drug lords living
in Venezuela may be the result of the Chavez-Bush political clash.

"The increase [in trafficking through Venezuela] doesn't seem
unique," said John Walsh, an analyst at the liberal Washington Office
on Latin America. "It's a continued adaptation of the industry to get
products to market."

But others say Chavez runs a risk if he doesn't crack down on the
traffickers.

"Given the limited cooperation of the Venezuelan government -- the
refusal to allow overflights, the expulsion of the DEA -- all of these
things have made Venezuela more attractive for traffickers," said
Bruce Bagley, a political science professor at the University of Miami
who has long followed the drug trafficking industry.

A Risky Gambit

"This is an extremely dangerous game for Chavez," Bagley added.
"There's a real danger that the Chavez government, not simply for its
anti-American stance but for its tolerance in international drug
trade, will become an international pariah."

Last month, the Mexican government, which has been sparring openly
with Venezuela over U.S.-led proposals for a hemisphere-wide free
trade zone, complained that corrupt airport officials in Venezuela
were allowing heroin shipments on airplanes bound for Mexico.

"This is a new route that we hadn't seen before," Mexican antidrug
prosecutor Noe Ramirez was quoted as saying by The Associated Press.
Venezuelan government officials denied Mexico's claims.