Most illegal drugs linked to Venezuela are not actually made there; Venezuela mainly serves as a transit and processing hub for cocaine produced in neighboring countries, especially Colombia, plus some related products and precursors that move through its territory.

Core answer: what drugs are “from” Venezuela?

When people say “drugs from Venezuela” they are usually talking about:

  • Cocaine that has passed through Venezuelan territory on its way to the U.S., Europe, the Caribbean, Central America, or West Africa.
  • Marijuana trafficked out of Colombia and routed through Venezuela to the Caribbean and beyond.
  • Cocaine derivatives like crack and “basuco” (cocaine paste) that are consumed locally but ultimately originate in coca grown mainly in Colombia.

Venezuela has historically had only limited coca cultivation on its border regions; the bulk of the raw coca and finished cocaine still comes from Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia.

What Venezuela does not mainly produce

  • Fentanyl: Available U.S. and U.N. drug data say Venezuela is not a producer or major exporter of fentanyl; Mexico (using precursors from China) is identified as the main source for U.S‑bound fentanyl.
  • Other synthetic opioids or new psychoactive substances: There is no solid reporting that Venezuela is a significant manufacturer of these, and past official reporting has noted no major domestic production of new synthetic drugs.

So when political figures talk about “deadly drugs from Venezuela,” expert assessments describe that as misleading: cocaine does move through Venezuela, but the highly lethal synthetic opioids killing large numbers of people (like fentanyl) are not primarily made there.

How the trafficking works

  • Transit role : Reports from U.S. and international bodies describe Venezuela as an important bridge or corridor in global cocaine trafficking, with hundreds of tons per year moving through by air and sea.
  • Routes :
    • From coca-growing zones in Colombia (e.g., Catatumbo region) into western Venezuela, then out by boat or aircraft to the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, West Africa, and Europe.
* Direct sea shipments from Venezuelan ports to Europe have, at times, accounted for a large share of cocaine seizures headed there.

In short, most “drugs from Venezuela” are actually Colombian (and wider Andean) cocaine and marijuana that use Venezuela as a staging and export platform, rather than substances uniquely produced in Venezuela itself.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.