Venezuelan soldiers have destroyed at least 68 hectares of drug crops and at least two cocaine processing laboratories, in a crackdown on illegal drug production.
Government officials said Wednesday they used satellite imagery to locate the plantations of coca plants, opium poppies, and marijuana near the Colombian border. Anti-drug officials say Venezuela serves as a major transit route for drug traffickers, with much of the contraband originating in neighboring Colombia.
U.S. and Venezuelan officials had been collaborating in the fight against illegal drugs until this year, when Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez accused U.S. drug agents of spying on his government and suspended cooperation with them.
The United States later added Venezuela to a list of nations it says are failing to fight drug trafficking effectively.
Some information for this report provided by AP, Reuters.