'Venezuela is profit center for Latin American cartels': JD Vance defends US operation after Maduro’s capture

US Vice President JD Vance has defended the Trump administration following the military operation of the US in Venezuela, capturing President Nicolas Maduro, amid criticism that Washington had targeted the wrong source of illicit drug trafficking.

Although the administration has accused the Maduro government of enabling drug flows into the United States, critics pointed to data showing that fentanyl, primarily trafficked from Mexico, accounts for the majority of drug-related deaths in the US, rather than cocaine originating from Venezuela.

While clarifying following the criticism over Trump’s actions, JD Vance rejected the argument that Venezuela had nothing to do with drug trafficking simply because most fentanyl came from elsewhere. “First off, fentanyl isn’t the only drug in the world, and there is still fentanyl coming from Venezuela (or at least there was)," he said in a post on X.

Caracas had expropriated US oil property: Vance

“Cocaine, which is the main drug trafficked out of Venezuela, is a profit centre for all of the Latin American cartels. If you cut out the money from cocaine (or even reduce it), you substantially weaken the cartels overall. Also, cocaine is bad too!" he added.

He assured that the illegal trafficking of fentanyl from Mexico remains a main focus of the US policy towards the neighbouring country. Responding to allegations that the operation of America was to secure Venezuelan oil, Vance clarified that Caracas had expropriated US oil property around 2 decades ago and had later used that property to finance what he described as narco-terrorist activities.

“I understand the anxiety over the use of military force, but are we just supposed to allow a communist to steal our stuff in our hemisphere and do nothing? Great powers don’t act like that. The United States, thanks to President Trump’s leadership, is a great power again. Everyone should take note," he added.