Padrino López reaffirms strong anti-drug campaign in the country

Statement by Venezuela’s Minister of Defense, Padrino López. teleSUR

Transcript

00:00Because we've always had there attempts of sowing the coca leaf in La Sierra de Parijas,

00:14places that we are not doing reconnaissance to see if there are any. As I was saying at the

00:19beginning, this is a yearly operation, two times a year, to determine if there are crops of coca or

00:31marijuana, although marijuana is very difficult to grow there, but the coca leaf in Parijas.

00:40Right now we're carrying out an operation with the anti-drug command of the Bolivar National Guard.

00:45The strategic command, always there in all that front, they have tried. The tankhole groups,

00:58the terrorist drug trafficking armed groups of Colombia are crossing the borderline

01:07without the consent of the Bolivarian Venezuelan government.

01:10Without our permission, our commander Chavez, who was always very clear on this,

01:18our commander-in-chief Nicolás Maduro has been very clear on this, and the Bolivar National Armed Forces

01:28constitutionally fulfilling the constitutional mandate cannot allow any group in Venezuelan territory,

01:37territory, whatever its name may be, not a single armed group. That would be a violation to our sovereignty.