US Removes Venezuela From Failed Drug List for First Time in Over 20 Years, Trump Says

The Trump administration has removed Venezuela from its list of countries that have failed to demonstrably combat illegal drug trafficking, the first time the country has been off that list in more than two decades, President Donald Trump said in a statement submitted to Congress this week.

Venezuela had been designated as a failed state on drug enforcement since 2005. Trump credited the shift to increased cooperation with Venezuela’s interim government, led by Delcy Rodriguez, following the arrest and removal of former President Nicolas Maduro in January.

Trump pointed specifically to the killing of Tren de Aragua leader “Niño Guerrero” as an example of that cooperation paying off, according to the presidential determination published by the State Department.

“I have determined Venezuela should no longer be designated as having failed demonstrably to fulfill its drug control commitments. I expect to see continued, measurable progress from the interim government in dismantling narcoterrorist groups and stopping drug trafficking through Venezuela.”

Maduro, a longtime critic of Washington, is currently being tried on drug trafficking charges in a New York federal court following his January removal. Since then, the US has worked with Rodriguez’s government on a range of agreements, including granting US oil companies access to Venezuela’s oil reserves.

Trump also signaled openness to removing Colombia and Bolivia from the failed list, though both remain designated for now. He credited both countries’ recent elections of conservative leaders as a turning point.

Bolivia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Peru, Venezuela, and Colombia are now among the countries led by leaders aligned with Trump’s administration. Many have also joined the Shield of the Americas programme, a US-led regional military and security alliance aimed at combating narcotics trafficking and organized crime.

Despite the changes involving Venezuela and potential shifts for Colombia and Bolivia, the US still considers both countries, along with Afghanistan, the Bahamas, Belize, Burma, China, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, and Panama, to be major drug transit hubs or producers.