Venezuela Says US DEA Stole Equipment [View All]

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Venezuela Says DEA Stole Equipment

Thursday, Aug 18, 2005

Caracas, Venezuela, August 18, 2005 —The director of Venezuela’s drug control agency, the National Commission Against Illicit Drug Use (Conacuid), Luis Correa, said that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) removed equipment from the building it shared with Conacuid. Correa said the equipment involved 13 devices for tapping cell phone systems, which the DEA had donated to Conacuid several years ago.

Correa made the accusation to the press and to a National Assembly hearing yesterday. Jesse Chacon, the Minister of the Interior and of Justice, had also mentioned this issue during a press conference he held on Wednesday.

Correa explained that he had sent two letters to the DEA requesting the equipment be returned to his agency, but has so far not received a reply.

The governments of Venezuela and the U.S. have gotten into a dispute recently about their efforts to control drug trafficking in Venezuela. President Chavez accused the DEA of spying and of over-stepping its authority while working in Venezuela. U.S. officials rejected the accusations, charging instead that Venezuela was not cooperating well with DEA agents.


http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1721