Which Caribbean islands are common transshipment points for Venezuelan drug shipments to the US?
Executive summary
Caribbean transshipment points for drugs originating in or moving through Venezuela include Venezuelan islands such as Margarita and the Los Roques archipelago, which have been repeatedly reported as staging grounds for shipments to other Caribbean states, Europe and the U.S. [1] [2]. Regional reporting and analysts also describe traffickers routing shipments through “islands of the Eastern Caribbean” and neighboring states [3] [1].
1. Venezuelan islands are primary staging grounds
Local islands off Venezuela’s coast are central to recent reporting: Isla Margarita has been identified as a “backdoor to Europe” and a preferred staging ground because its geography gives access to other islands and overseas routes; the Los Roques archipelago has also been linked to trafficking in drugs and gold [1]. A Venezuelan research report notes that once narcotics enter Venezuelan territory they move outward to Caribbean islands, Central America and Europe, underscoring the role of domestic islands in transshipment chains [2].
2. Eastern Caribbean islands are frequent targets of criminal networks
Analysts quoted in reporting say organized‑crime groups—including armed gangs—are attempting to “control these territories to establish direct transportation routes to the islands of the Eastern Caribbean,” indicating that small islands east and north of Venezuela are part of the transit ecosystem [3]. Reporting ties the expansion of groups such as Tren de Aragua to efforts to secure routes through the Eastern Caribbean [3].
3. Neighboring Dutch Caribbean hubs draw official focus
The U.S. military and diplomatic posture in the region highlights Aruba and Curaçao as strategically close to Venezuela: U.S. Cooperative Security Locations (CSLs) in Aruba and Curaçao are described as the nearest surveillance hubs to the Venezuelan coast and have been emphasized in coverage of counter‑drug operations [4]. That proximity both reflects and shapes law‑enforcement attention on trafficking corridors that touch those islands [4].
4. Broader maritime picture: not all traffic takes the same path
Multiple sources caution against assuming a single Caribbean corridor dominates U.S. drug supply routes. UNODC and mapping visualizations show that most maritime shipments move westward through Pacific routes or northward through the Western Caribbean, rather than solely via the eastern island chain—meaning Caribbean transshipment points are important but not necessarily the principal maritime corridor into North America [5]. A DEA analysis cited in media reporting estimated in 2020 that 74% of cocaine destined for the U.S. arrived via the Pacific, placing Caribbean fast‑boat flows at a smaller share [4].
5. Transshipment hubs serve multiple final markets
Reporting on Margarita explicitly links its use not only to Caribbean transit but to routes reaching Europe and the United States, showing that specific islands function as flexible staging points adaptable to different trafficking networks’ logistical needs [1]. Transparencia Venezuela’s analysis likewise frames multiple exit routes from Venezuela toward Caribbean islands, Central America and Europe, highlighting the multi‑directional character of transshipment flows [2].
6. U.S. policy, military activity and narratives shape coverage
The recent surge in U.S. military activity in the Caribbean—described by outlets as the largest regional U.S. presence since 1989—has been framed by the White House as a counter‑narcotics mission focused on traffickers moving drugs through Caribbean and Pacific waters; that framing elevates attention on nearby transshipment points such as Aruba, Curaçao and Venezuela’s coastal islands [6] [4]. Critics and analysts warn that the emphasis on lethal strikes and military tools can obscure broader trafficking patterns [7] [8].
7. What sources do and do not say
Available sources specifically name Venezuelan islands—Margarita and Los Roques—and refer broadly to “islands of the Eastern Caribbean” and nearby Dutch islands (Aruba, Curaçao) as relevant to routes [1] [3] [4] [2]. Sources do not provide a comprehensive, ranked list of every Caribbean transshipment point used for Venezuelan drug shipments, nor do they quantify what share of U.S.‑bound drugs transit each island; that granular mapping is not found in the current reporting provided (not found in current reporting).
Limitations: reporting mixes investigative NGO work, media accounts and government framing, each with different agendas—local investigative outlets emphasize domestic corruption and island use [1] [2], while U.S. government and some media coverage foreground military responses and regional security postures [4] [6]. Readers should treat named locations as documented hotspots rather than as the exclusive or dominant routes into the United States [5] [4].