As the United States and Colombia continue to make progress against traffickers in Colombia, Venezuela is picking up the demand by transporting cocaine from its territory.

From the Boston Globe:

The number of flights transporting tons of Colombian cocaine from Venezuela, destined for the United States, has risen sharply, according to US and foreign intelligence reports, presenting a new challenge to drug enforcement authorities at a time when cooperation with the Venezuelan government is at a record low.

In 2007, authorities detected nearly 200 illegal drug flights taking off from Venezuela to interim delivery points on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola and in Central America - more than twice as many as 2003, according to the Key West-based headquarters that polices drug trafficking.

“The situation continues to deteriorate,” Coast Guard Rear Admiral Joseph L. Nimmich, commander of the Joint Interagency Task Force-South, said in a recent interview about Venezuela’s emergence as a key source of cocaine trafficking.