Venezuela Close To Drug Deal With America
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuela will sign a new drug cooperation agreement with America next month, less than a year after President Chavez claimed Drug Enforcement Administration agents were spying on his government, the state news agency said.
The accord will be signed on July 8, the Bolivarian News Agency said, citing the head of the Venezuelan anti-drug agency, Luis Correa. The two countries will increase cooperation in technology, training, and intelligence, Mr. Correa told the newswire.
Mr. Correa said all “differences” between the countries over the drug accord were resolved, the newswire reported. Terms of the agreement weren’t immediately available. A spokesman for the American Embassy in Caracas, Brian Penn, didn’t return messages left at his office.
The American government has denied Mr. Chavez’s accusation that DEA agents were spying. Relations between Venezuela and America soured soon after Mr. Chavez took office in 1999. Mr. Chavez, an ally of Fidel Castro, says America plotted a coup against him in 2002. America, which says the South America country has cooperated little in its fight against terrorism, also denies involvement in the coup attempt.
