Trump bashes Venezuela for failing to meet its international counternarcotics agreements

US President Donald Trump has designated Venezuela as one of the countries that failed to adhere to its international counternarcotics agreements, the White House said in a press release.

"I hereby designate Bolivia and the illegitimate regime of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela as having failed demonstrably during the previous 12 months to adhere to their obligations under international counternarcotics agreements," Trump said. "I have also determined <...> that United States programs that support the legitimate government in Venezuela are vital to the national interests of the United States," he added.

"With the end of the Maduro dictatorship rife with criminal elements, the United States will have a much better opportunity to work with Venezuela to stem the flow of drugs leaving South America," Trump noted.

The US president identified the following countries as "major drug transit or major illicit drug producing countries" — Afghanistan, the Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Burma, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela. "A country's presence in the foregoing list is not necessarily a reflection of its government's counternarcotics efforts or level of cooperation with the United States," Trump noted.