Soldiers destroy cocaine labs in Venezuela

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Venezuela's National Guard destroyed an elaborate network of clandestine cocaine-processing laboratories along the country's border with Colombia on Tuesday as part of its anti-drug efforts. National Guard troops armed with assault rifles secured the area in the western state of Zulia before explosives were used to demolish the labs located along the porous 2,300-kilometer border that Venezuela shares with Colombia, the world's largest cocaine producer. Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami told the state-run Bolivarian News Agency a day before the operation that troops seized 420 kilos of cocaine and coca paste, along with chemicals used to produce cocaine, after discovering the labs. Journalists were offered a rare look at the labs on Tuesday.