Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—Venezuelan military personnel seized 2.9 tons of cocaine and marijuana and arrested four people during a Caribbean anti-drug operation conducted with French intelligence cooperation, Venezuela’s Ministry of Interior, Justice and Peace reported on Friday, October 16.According to the ministry’s official statement, the operation was carried out by the Bolivarian National Guard’s Special Antidrug Unit UEA-45 in La Guaira, in coordination with the Bolivarian Navy’s Coast Guard and intelligence exchanges with the French Navy.Authorities recovered 166 bales containing 4,152 drug bricks: 1.2 tones of cocaine and 1.7 tons of marijuana. The four detainees and the evidence were placed at the disposal of the Attorney General’s Office.https://www.laiguana.tv/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Exitoso-operativo-en-el-mar-caribe-contra-el-flagelo-de-las-drogasEl-procedimiento-fue-ejecutado.mp4The fishing boat being used in the trafficking was named as Libertad in Venezuelan press. Local news outlets reported that three of those arrested were Venezuelan and one was Colombian.French reports confirm bilateral cooperationFrance-Antilles, citing a communiqué from the French Armed Forces in the Antilles, dated the interception of the Venezuelan-flagged fishing boat on Tuesday, October 13. Its report also confirmed the discovery of 166 bales containing cocaine and marijuana and the referral of the crew, drugs, and boat to the competent Venezuelan authorities for judicial proceedings.AFP reporting cited by the outlet TF1 reported the Venezuelan drug seizure as part of three French naval operations conducted between October 4 and 13 in the Caribbean and Atlantic, which together recovered more than 8.6 tons of drugs. The other operations involved a small speedboat intercepted in cooperation with Colombia on October 4 and an unflagged fishing boat seized in the Atlantic on October 8.On Friday, Venezuela’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Oliver Blanco confirmed the bilateral operation and thanked French authorities for their assistance. In a statement on social media, he emphasized that it had been conducted in accordance with international law and demonstrated the importance of cooperation against transnational drug trafficking.Lawful interdiction and US executions at seaThe boarding, arrests, seizure of evidence, and referral to the prosecution contrast sharply with the extrajudicial executions carried out by the US Southern Command in the region since September 2025. Washington has used allegations of drug trafficking to justify lethal attacks on small boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, killing their crew without evidence or trial. In an October 15 report, Le Monde quoted SOUTHCOM as claiming responsibility for destroying 72 boats and killing 238 people since the campaign began. The Venezuela–France operation, on the other hand, demonstrates that suspected trafficking can be addressed through coordinated interception and judicial proceedings while preserving suspects’ lives and evidence for prosecution.UN human rights experts condemned the US attacks as extrajudicial executions in September 2025. The following month, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stressed that drug enforcement is governed by international human rights law and that intentional lethal force is permissible only as a last resort against an imminent threat to life.He emphasized that the information publicly provided by Washington did not establish such a threat from those aboard the targeted boats. This expose the illegality of treating suspected traffickers as military targets: an allegation of criminal activity does not authorize an execution at sea.Venezuela’s Interior Minister Cabello: 7.2 Tons of Drugs Seized So Far in 2026Full communiquéThe unofficial translation of the Venezuelan statement informing the public about the counter-narcotic operation follows:Bolivarian Republic of VenezuelaMinistry of the People’s Power for Interior Relations, Justice and PeaceCOMMUNIQUÉThe Ministry of the People’s Power for Interior Relations, Justice and Peace informs the public that, in fulfillment of national and international commitments against drug trafficking, a maritime interdiction operation was successfully carried out in the waters of the Caribbean Sea.The procedure was carried out by the Special Antidrug Unit (UEA-45 La Guaira) of the Bolivarian National Guard, in coordination with the Bolivarian Navy’s Coast Guard and through the exchange of intelligence with the French Navy.Four individuals were apprehended and 166 bales containing 4,152 drug bricks were seized: 1,173.50 kilograms of cocaine and 1,727.40 kilograms of marijuana, for a total of 2,900.90 kilograms. The detainees and the evidence were placed at the disposal of the Attorney Generals Office.The Venezuelan government thanks the French Republic and its naval authorities for their valuable cooperation, which contributed to the success of this operation.Caracas, October 16, 2026 Special for Orinoco Tribune by staffOT/JRE/SC