U.S. Drug Report Faults Venezuela, Burma

News Summary A new U.S. report on international drug trafficking says that Venezuela -- currently locked in a bitter political dispute with the Bush administration -- has "failed demonstrably" to prevent drugs from being shipped to the U.S., the Melbourne Age reported Sept. 16. Only Venezuela and Burma were listed as failing on the report. However, the Bush administration said it would not impose sanctions on Venezuela, which is a major supplier of oil to the United States. Drug czar John Walters said the sanctions waiver was needed to promote democracy in Venezuela. "We won't allow any country on earth the right to judge the internal situation in our country," Venezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said on the eve of the report's release. Other nations cited as major drug transit or producing countries were... [read full story]