In May, for the seventh consecutive year, the U.S. Department of State determined, pursuant to section 40A of the Arms Export Control Act, that Venezuela was not cooperating fully with U.S. antiterrorism efforts. The Venezuelan government took no action against senior Venezuelan government officials who have been designated as Foreign Narcotics Kingpins by the U.S. Department of the Treasury for directly supporting the narcotics and arms trafficking activities of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Venezuela and Colombia continued their dialogue on security and border issues. On several occasions during the year, President Chávez said, in reference to the FARC and the Colombian group the National Liberation Army (ELN), that the Venezuelan government would not permit the presence of illegal armed groups in Venezuelan territory. Venezuela captured two FARC members during the year; one died following his capture and the other is still in Venezuelan custody.

Venezuela maintained its economic, financial, and diplomatic cooperation with Iran. Iranian President Ahmadinejad visited Venezuela in January, and following his meeting with Chávez, the leaders announced the signing of agreements in the areas of housing materials, construction, agriculture, and shipping. In June, Chávez unveiled an unarmed, unmanned-aerial vehicle that he claimed Venezuela had produced domestically with Iranian technology. The Banco Internacional de Desarrollo, a subsidiary of the Banco de Desarrollo y Exportacion de Iran, continued to operate in Venezuela despite its designation in 2008 by the U.S. Treasury Department under E.O. 13382 ("Blocking Property of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferators and their Supporters").

There were credible reports that Hizballah engaged in fundraising and support activity in Venezuela.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: Venezuela captured two FARC members during the year; one died following his capture and the other was in Venezuelan custody at year's end.

Countering Terrorist Finance: Venezuela is a member of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, a Financial Action Task Force-style regional body; the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission Anti-Money Laundering Group; and the Egmont Group.

Venezuela enacted an organic law against organized crime and the financing of terrorism (Gazette No. 39.912, April 2012), as well as joint resolution 122 (Gazette No. 39.945, June 2012) and joint resolution 158 (Gazette No. 39.986, August 2012) to address deficiencies in its anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism regime. The organic law criminalized terrorism in a manner consistent with international norms and extended due diligence requirements beyond banks to include securities, insurance, and other financial institutions. The organic law also obligated financial institutions to notify Venezuela's financial intelligence unit of any transactions that might be related to terrorist acts, terrorist financing, money laundering, or organized crime, even when the funds in question come from licit sources. Joint resolution 122 and joint resolution 158 created a mechanism for implementing UNSC resolutions 1267 and 1373, respectively.

Disclaimer:

This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.