Up to 40 percent of cocaine from Colombia that ends up in Europe is estimated to pass through Venezuela.

In addition, the United States has reported that Venezuela allowed up to 300 tones of cocaine to pass through its borders in 2008.

Source:  Frank Jack Daniel, “Venezuela says radars slow Africa cocaine flights,” Reuters, September 8, 2009.

Cocaine from Colombia is trafficked through Venezuela and sold on the streets of Europe for $12.5 Billion (£7.5 Billion) a year.

Source:  John Carlin, “Revealed: Chavez role in cocaine trail to Europe,” The Observer, February 3, 2008.

Up to 17 percent of all cocaine produced in the Andes was believed to have been trafficked through Venezuela in 2007, according to Government Accountability Report.  260 metric tons flowed through Venezuela in 2007, up from 60 metric tons in 2004.

In addition, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) contributes in trafficking up to 60 percent of all cocaine coming out of Colombia.

Source:  Juan Forero, “Venezuela’s Drug-Trafficking Role Is Growing Fast, U.S. Report Says,” Washington Post, July 19, 2009.

Price is in US Dollars and represents the typical price of Marijuana in the Americas.

Source: UNODC, “World Drug Report 2009: Section 3.4 Prices, pages 215 to 234,” June 2009.

Price is in US Dollars and represents the typical price of Ecstasy in the Americas.

Source: UNODC, “World Drug Report 2009: Section 3.4 Prices, pages 215 to 234,” June 2009.

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Prices are in US Dollars and represent the typical price of Heroin in the Americas.

Source: UNODC, “World Drug Report 2009:  Section 3.4 Prices, pages 215 to 234,” June 2009.

According to official statistics, there has been 166 abductions for ransom in Venezuela in 2009.  However, as many cases are not reported, the number of kidnappings are estimated to be up to four times higher.

Poor families are forced to give up possessions, such as refrigerator, in order to pay the ransom.

Source:  Rory Carroll, “Fear grips Venezuela as even the poor are seized by kidnap gangs,” The Guardian, May 17, 2009.

The United States shut down a financial firm in Florida that was accused of selling black market dollars to people in Venezuela. According to the Wall Street Journal, Rosemont Finance Corp. served as a major clearinghouse for the black market exchange of dollars, which are officially banned.

From the Wall Street Journal:

The black market is a crucial cog in the nation’s financial system and counts giants such as state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA among its key players. If the market remains shut down for long, it could add to problems in Venezuela’s increasingly chaotic economy. Venezuela, the fourth-largest supplier of oil to the U.S., has already been hurt by the decline in crude prices, rampant corruption and overspending on social programs.

Read the entire story here.