Source: Xinhua
What it’s about: The article highlights advances that Venezuela’s government has made in its fight against drug-trafficking through the National Anti-Narcotics Bureau (ONA). According to the head of ONA, Juan Pedro Grillo, in the past 10 years Venezuela has captured 144 Colombian drug cartel leaders and destroyed 181 clandestine airstrips used by drug traffickers.
What’s misleading about it: This article is misleading because it disregards the strong amount of evidence gathered by groups such as InSight Crime that shows that Venezuela under the Maduro regime has become increasingly entrenched with drug-traffickers. Under Maduro, Venezuela has evolved from a country where drug-traffickers once paid off authorities to “look the other way” to a situation in which some top government officials—and Maduro’s family members—are directly involved in the drug-trade (including individuals that have been sanctioned by the U.S. government).