Venezuelan authorities have seized 1.3 metric tons of cocaine hidden inside a cargo container at a seaport near Caracas.

A Venezuelan military official, General Marcos Rojas, said Thursday that the cocaine was discovered in paint cans at La Guaira seaport, north of the Venezuelan capital.

He said smugglers had planned to load the drugs onto a cargo ship bound for Mexico.

The discovery comes two months after Mexican soldiers seized 5.5 tons of cocaine found on board a commercial plane that arrived from Caracas without passengers.

The cocaine was hidden in 128 black suitcases and had a street value of $100 million. The pilot escaped, but the co-pilot was arrested, along with two Mexicans who arrived in another aircraft.

Venezuela neighbors Colombia - the world's largest cocaine producer - and is often used as a transit route for cocaine destined for other countries.

Some information for this report was provided by AP .