Venezuelan military personnel pose with part of the drugs and equipment seized during the Lightning of Catatumbo security operation in Zulia state. Photo: CEOFANB.
Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—Venezuelan authorities have confiscated 9,866 kilograms (nearly 10 tons) of high-purity cocaine in three separate operations conducted in March 2025 in Zulia state, as part of the Lightning of Catatumbo security operation. The announcement was made on Saturday, March 23, by Venezuelan Minister for the Interior Diosdado Cabello, who accused opposition factions led by María Corina Machado of being “neck-deep” in the criminal network behind drug trafficking.
Lightning of Catatumbo Operation: Key facts
- First Seizure (March 14): 5,407 (5.4 tons) kg of cocaine
- Second Seizure: 600 kg discovered in hidden stashes (caletas) after interrogations of detained local officials.
- Third Seizure (March 19): 1,240 kg found in asphalt-coated liquid cocaine, detected by drug-sniffing dogs., and 2,619.3 kg seized from a boat in a mangrove zone in Zulia state.
Minister Cabello emphasized that security personnel wore masks during raids to protect their identities, and called drug trafficking “a perverse threat.” He pointed out that the seized drug is high-purity cocaine processed in Colombia, and traffickers are trying to use Venezuelan territory to reach the US and European markets.
Opposition ties to drug-trafficking
Minister Cabello linked the seizures to opposition leader María Corina Machado, claiming that the drugs were tied to a destabilization plot dubbed No a la Navidad (No to Christmas), allegedly orchestrated by:
- José Enrique Rincón, a Zulia-based industrialist with shrimp farming interests, allegedly the head of the drug-trafficking scheme who met with Machado last year in Colombia, and
- Fugitives Iván Simonovis (a former security official) and far-right politicians Tomás Guanipa and Juan Pablo Guanipa.
The Venezuelan interior minister presented a “criminal network diagram” showing alleged connections between Machado, Rincón, and others, though some individuals remain unnamed pending further investigation.
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Broader accusations and context
- Colombian drug money claims: Cabello explained that Machado’s campaign funding stemmed from Colombian narco-trafficking networks tied to ex-presidents Álvaro Uribe and Iván Duque, who have remained silent on the seizures.
- Destabilization plans: The security operation reportedly foiled attacks on Venezuela’s power grid, oil infrastructure, and the Guri Dam, alongside schemes to arm prisoners and criminal gang leaders.
Cabello framed the crackdown as “the hardest blow ever dealt to narco trafficking,” and vowed to dismantle all “terrorist, destabilizing, corrupt networks.”
Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff
OT/JRE/SC
