Venezuela’s interior minister has denied claims that a plane seized in Guinea-Bissau with 2.6 tons of cocaine originated from Venezuela.
“The plane never set foot on Venezuelan soil,” Diosdado Cabello stated during a government event on Wednesday.
According to Guinea-Bissau’s judicial police, the cocaine seizure on September 7 was carried out in cooperation with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre–Narcotics, a European agency.
Five crew members, including two Mexicans and individuals from Colombia, Ecuador, and Brazil, were arrested, including the pilot. Early reports had suggested the plane came from Mexico.
Cabello emphasized that Venezuela “does not produce drugs,” adding that the North American empire—likely referring to the U.S.—is the world’s largest consumer of drugs.
Guinea-Bissau, notorious as a transit point for drug cartels, has seen previous drug-related incidents. Earlier this year, the son of a former president was sentenced to over six years in a U.S. prison for leading an international heroin trafficking network. Additionally, the country’s current leader has accused a convicted drug baron of orchestrating a failed coup attempt two years ago.
West Africa has increasingly become a major route for drugs from Latin America and Southwest Asia heading to Europe, according to a recent U.N. report.
