VENEZUELA
The cruelty and violence used by modern day pirates are basically the same as their legendary predecessors whom Venezuela experienced in the last century. The first incident of modern piracy reported in Venezuelan waters was in the late 1970s when a fishing vessel operating in the Golfo de Venezuela disappeared without trace. Nobody knew what had happened until the sole surviving fisherman turned up to tell the story. The fishing boat had been approached by an innocent looking small craft which claimed to be in need of assistance. As soon as the crew of the small boat were allowed on board, they produced their guns and shot the crew of the trawler, throwing their bodies overboard. The trawler was eventually used for drug running and later abandoned.
In 1980, the Venezuelan Navy transferred a patrol boat squadron from Puerto Cabello to Punto Fijo in Golfo de Venezuela. This resulted in the elimination of the problem in less than six months. Since then, the only cases reported in Venezuelan waters are petty thefts from ships in port or at anchor or from recreational craft.
One problem which needs to be watched carefully is the drug-related aspect of modern piracy. One way of transporting drugs is to put them in containers among legitimate merchandise. At the port of destination the criminals board the ship to retrieve the drugs before the containers are discharged in order to avoid detection by anti-drug agencies after unloading. As far as we know, this has not happened in a Venezuelan port and statistics available show that drug-related crimes involving merchant ships represent a small percentage of such crimes, nevertheless we have to be aware of this and that it could grow in future.
In order to co-ordinate the fight against drug traffickers, a Strategic Plan was developed which includes the efforts of Law enforcement agencies, and the Military Services, particularly the Navy and the National Guard.
Some of the actions taken within this initiative include measures of repression, control and asset seizure. A Strategic Information and Co-ordination Center was created for this purpose and frontier protection including our sea frontiers, has been increased significantly. In the international co-operation arena, we are participating in a multinational effort against drug traffickers, and in experience sharing fora such as this one.
Specific Agreements have been signed or are being discussed in order to fight the Drug Problem. These agreements include co-operation in Anti Drug Maritime Operations, Intelligence sharing, communications procedures and others.
In conclusion, I wish to highlight the following points:
- Piracy and armed robbery against ships, as of today, is mainly a drug-related problem in the Venezuelan scenario; and
- Presently, the scale of the problem, as it affects merchant ships, is small but this aspect could grow and this needs to be taken into account.
On our return home we will report the outcome of this meeting to our superiors and recommend that all measures proposed in this seminar and workshop be put into practice nationwide, taking advantage of all the infrastructure already in place, both physical and organizational.
