How do seizure totals at Venezuelan ports compare to those in Colombia and Ecuador for shipments bound for the U.S.?
Executive summary
Available reporting shows Colombia is by far the dominant source of cocaine interdicted en route to the United States, while Ecuador and Venezuela account for smaller shares and often serve as transit points or exporters to other markets; for example, DEA reporting cited by CNN indicates 84% of cocaine seized in the U.S. originates from Colombia [1], and InSight Crime records Venezuelan authorities seized 35.1 tonnes of cocaine in 2024 versus Ecuador reporting 252 tonnes seized that year [2]. Sources describe Venezuela more as a transit corridor for some shipments—often destined for Europe—than as the principal origin of U.S.-bound loads [3] [4].
1. Colombia: the primary supplier for U.S.-bound cocaine
Multiple outlets and official data identify Colombia as the main origin of cocaine that reaches the United States. CNN cites DEA analysis that 84% of the cocaine seized in the U.S. comes from Colombia [1]. The Atlantic and The Guardian note Colombia’s central role in production, cultivation at record highs, and long-standing counter‑drug cooperation with U.S. agencies that yields much of the actionable intelligence used in interdictions [5] [6].
2. Ecuador: large seizures but mixed roles—transit, emerging production, and container routes
Ecuador appears in the record books for very large seizures and an uptick in domestic cultivation. InSight Crime reports Ecuadorian authorities seized 252 tonnes of cocaine in 2024, a substantial increase year‑on‑year [2]. Reporting also describes Ecuador as a transit hub where cocaine from Colombia and Peru is moved onward—sometimes concealed in container shipments such as banana exports—meaning large seizure totals do not necessarily indicate primary production for U.S. markets [6] [2].
3. Venezuela: significant seizures but primarily a transit corridor often linked to Europe, not the U.S.
Venezuela registered 35.1 tonnes seized in 2024 according to InSight Crime’s monitoring—down nearly 20% from 2023 [2]. Multiple outlets qualify Venezuela’s role: The Atlantic, Al Jazeera and NBC reporting say Venezuela functions largely as a transit country for Colombian cocaine and that many Venezuelan-origin boat movements are more likely bound for Europe than the U.S. [5] [3] [4]. Thus Venezuelan seizure totals, while non‑trivial, do not by themselves show Venezuela as the main source of shipments reaching the U.S. [3].
4. Quantities alone don’t map cleanly to destination markets
Seizure weight by country does not equal final destination. Analysts note the dominant maritime pathway for U.S.-bound cocaine is the Eastern Pacific through Mexico and Central America—routes tied to Colombia and Peru—while Caribbean fast-boat routes (where Venezuela is implicated) historically represent a smaller share of U.S.-bound flows [7] [1]. NBC and The Guardian flag that many boat interdictions off Venezuela are likely carrying cocaine destined for Europe rather than fentanyl or U.S.-bound shipments [4] [7].
5. Intelligence, politics and differing interpretations cloud simple comparisons
U.S. policy statements and strikes have politicized the metrics. The White House and State Department designate multiple countries as major transit or producing states, including Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela [8] [9]. Critics and regional experts argue U.S. military actions against vessels near Venezuela overstate that country’s role and downplay the centrality of Colombian and Mexican cartels to U.S. supply chains [5] [10]. These competing framings mean seizure totals are invoked selectively to justify contrasting policies [5] [10].
6. What sources don’t say or leave unclear
Available sources do not provide a single, consolidated dataset that maps seizure totals at Venezuelan, Colombian and Ecuadorian ports specifically for shipments ultimately bound for the U.S.; reporting instead supplies national seizure totals and route analyses [2] [1] [4]. They also do not attribute what fraction of each country’s seizures were explicitly intended for the U.S. market versus Europe, Asia or other destinations [2] [4].
7. Bottom line for comparing totals and policy implications
Raw seizure totals show Colombia as the lion’s share of the origin for cocaine that reaches the U.S., while Ecuador records very large interdictions and rising domestic involvement, and Venezuela records notable but smaller seizures and is often portrayed as a transit corridor—frequently with shipments headed to Europe rather than the U.S. [1] [2] [4]. Policymakers should not equate national seizure tonnage with direct culpability for U.S.-bound flows without route‑specific intelligence; sources show disagreement about the weight seizures impose on policy arguments [5] [3].