In 1977, I backpacked through Venezuela and recall our bus driver filling his 800-litre fuel tank for just US$20. At that time, around two-thirds of Venezuela's cheap oil exports went to the US. Five decades later, Venezuela's vast oil reserves - still among the world's largest - continue to shape US policy, although US public discourse focuses almost entirely on Venezuelan drug trafficking.

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Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed Venezuela is a major source of illicit drugs flooding into the US, accusing Nicols Maduro's government of complicity in narcotics trafficking. These assertions have been used to legitimise US military actions, including airstrikes on suspected drug vessels in Venezuelan and international waters, and a build-up of US naval vessels in the Caribbean near Venezuela.

Unsurprisingly, US President Donald Trump's claims greatly overstate Venezuela's role in the drug trade. According to the DEA, roughly 84 per cent of cocaine seized in the US originates in Colombia, with Mexico also a key supplier. Venezuela rarely features prominently in DEA reports.

The US's primary drug crisis is driven by fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, most of which are produced domestically or trafficked in from Mexico and China. While Venezuela is involved in some drug trafficking, its direct contribution to the US market is minimal - far less significant than Trump's rhetoric suggests.

So why the persistent focus on Venezuela as a narco-state?

The drug narrative provides a convenient cover for broader US objectives. By labelling Venezuelan officials as "narcoterrorists," Washington gains legal grounds to justify sanctions, apply pressure, and conduct military operations.

The real prize is Venezuela's enormous oil reserves, particularly its heavy crude suited for US........

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