|
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Venezuela accused U.S. anti-drug agents Friday of collaborating with traffickers and rejected Washington's allegations that rampant corruption has allowed illegal drug smuggling to thrive in the South American country.
Justice Minister Pedro Carreno accused the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration of forging ties with drug traffickers before President Hugo Chavez suspended cooperation with the agency in 2005.
"A large quantity of drug shipments left the country through that organization," Carreno said a day after the State Department criticized Venezuela in its annual report on drug trafficking. "We were in the presence of a new drug cartel."
|