Venezuela/Transnational issues

Disputes - international: claims all of Guyana west of the Essequibo River; maritime boundary dispute with Colombia in the Gulf of Venezuela

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of opium for the international drug trade on a small scale; however, large quantities of cocaine and heroin transit the country from Colombia bound for US and Europe; important money-laundering hub; active eradication program primarily targeting opium; increasing signs of drug-related activities by Colombian insurgents on border