AP publishes private DEA memos on espionage scheme in Venezuela

A secret memo obtained by Associated Press Details of a year-long covert operation by DEA The United States sent intelligence agents into Venezuela to secretly investigate and build drug trafficking cases against the country’s leaders, a plan that USA It may be a violation of international law.

Free translation by lapatilla / Joshua Goodman and Jim Mustian / AP

“These operations must be carried out unilaterally without notifying Venezuelan authorities,” reads a 15-page 2018 memo that expands on this. “Operation Money Badger”, An investigation that, according to officials, targeted dozens of people, including Nicolás Maduro.

While there is no clear mechanism for holding the United States legally responsible, the revelations threaten to disrupt already strained relations with the socialist government. ripe And may deepen resentment toward the United States as a whole Latin America For what is seen as intrusion. It also provides a rare window into how far the nation was prepared to go. DEA To fight the war on drugs in a country that banned American drug agents nearly two decades ago.

Some close associates of ripe Those arrested in the investigation included Alex Saab, a businessman recently released in a prisoner swap for 10 Americans and a fugitive defense contractor. But so far, it has not been clear whether the US investigation into Venezuela involved legally questionable tactics.

“We don’t like to say it publicly, but in fact, we are the police of the world,” said Wes Tabor, a former US administration official. DEA who served as the agency’s attaché in Venezuela long before the investigation described in the memo began. thrown out.

Tabor, who did not confirm the existence of such an operation, said that unilateral and covert actions can be an effective tool when carried out with appropriate limits and accountability, especially in a country like Venezuela, where the lines between the state and the criminal world are blurred. making it an ideal transit point for up to 15% of the world’s cocaine.

“We are not in the business of following the laws of other countries when those countries have rogue regimes and the lives of American children are at risk,” he said. “And in the case of Venezuela, where we’re drowning in drugs, it’s worth the risk.”

The DEA and Justice Department declined to respond to AP questions about the memo, the frequency with which the United States conducts unilateral activities and the composition of the panels that authorize such operations.

To read the full note, here