HomeNewsBriefEx-Venezuela Army Captain Added to US Kingpin List
BRIEF

Ex-Venezuela Army Captain Added to US Kingpin List

CARTEL OF THE SUNS / 23 AUG 2013 BY DANIELA CASTRO EN

The US Treasury Department has added a former Venezuelan army captain to its list of Specially Designated Drug Traffickers, further proof of the importance of the Venezuelan military to international drug trafficking.

According to the Treasury, Vassyly Kotosky Villarroel Ramirez facilitated the movement of tons of cocaine and drug trafficking profits using various airports, seaports, and official Venezuelan government vehicles.

Villarroel is accused of providing security and protection for cocaine shipments for renowned drug traffickers including Daniel "El Loco" Barrera, and former Rastrojos leader Javier Antonio Calle Serna, alias, "Comba," and of handling drugs destined for Mexican cartels including the Sinaloa Cartel, the Zetas, and the Beltran Leyva Organization

The director of the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Adam Szubin, said "Villarroel Ramirez is a prime example of a narcotics trafficker who exploited his former military position and connections to facilitate the transport of cocaine to Mexico and profit from the sales that followed."

venz capt

InSight Crime Analysis

The sanctioning of Villarroel highlights the central role of the Venezuelan military in facilitating drug trafficking through what is now one of the main routes leaving Colombia. This corruption may go all the way to the top of the organization, with the drug trafficking network of the high-ranking military personnel, the Cartel of the Suns.

SEE ALSO: Cartel of the Suns Profile

The center of Villarroel's operations was Maiquetia airport -- the country's biggest international airport, which lies just outside capital city Caracas, showing how trafficking in Venezuela is not limited to using hidden airstrips, or coastal ports.

The case demonstrates how military personnel are at the hub of many connections between Colombian traffickers such as El Loco Barrera and Comba, who operated in Colombia's eastern border region, and the Mexican buyers of their product. Both Barrera and Comba are now imprisoned but the region continues to be a trafficking hotspot, and whoever steps into their place will also be looking to capitalize on corruption in the Venezuelan army.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

COLOMBIA / 5 OCT 2021

Colombia’s top military commander says 40 percent of ELN and ex-FARC fighters operate in Venezuela, a figure that must be…

ELITES AND CRIME / 22 OCT 2021

Business partners of Álex Saab have been indicted by US prosecutors on charges of being part of a multi-million dollar…

CARTEL OF THE SUNS / 1 SEP 2022

InSight Crime charts the history of cocaine from agricultural extract to the basis of global criminal empires.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…