Venezuela: Illicit Financial Flows and U.S. Efforts to Disrupt Them
Security Theme
State Stability and Infrastructure
Keywords
Economic Stability, Oil, illicitly-mined gold, drugs, recommendations for executive actions
Description
Much of Venezuela is ungoverned, undergoverned, or ill governed, according to the Department of State. In 2019, the U.S. ceased to recognize Nicolás Maduro as Venezuela's president and suspended embassy operations in Venezuela, according to State. U.S. agencies have indicated that the illegitimate Maduro regime allows and tolerates the use of its territory by transnational criminal organizations (TCO), including U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations, for drug trafficking and other criminal enterprises. According to the 2022 Caribbean Border Counternarcotics Strategy, the ongoing political instability in Venezuela provides a permissive smuggling environment for TCOs, and Venezuela’s corrupt political and security infrastructure enables officials to participate in, and profit from, these illicit activities. TCOs have used Venezuela’s permissive environment to generate income. Corrupt Venezuelans have used their positions for illegitimate income. Furthermore, between 2017 and 2022, State has consistently determined that Venezuela is a major money laundering country. State and the Department of the Treasury have reported that Venezuela is susceptible to illicit financial activity, including money laundering and public corruption.
Venezuela: Illicit Financial Flows and U.S. Efforts to Disrupt Them
Much of Venezuela is ungoverned, undergoverned, or ill governed, according to the Department of State. In 2019, the U.S. ceased to recognize Nicolás Maduro as Venezuela's president and suspended embassy operations in Venezuela, according to State. U.S. agencies have indicated that the illegitimate Maduro regime allows and tolerates the use of its territory by transnational criminal organizations (TCO), including U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations, for drug trafficking and other criminal enterprises. According to the 2022 Caribbean Border Counternarcotics Strategy, the ongoing political instability in Venezuela provides a permissive smuggling environment for TCOs, and Venezuela’s corrupt political and security infrastructure enables officials to participate in, and profit from, these illicit activities. TCOs have used Venezuela’s permissive environment to generate income. Corrupt Venezuelans have used their positions for illegitimate income. Furthermore, between 2017 and 2022, State has consistently determined that Venezuela is a major money laundering country. State and the Department of the Treasury have reported that Venezuela is susceptible to illicit financial activity, including money laundering and public corruption.
