Venezuela a 'Narcostructured State,' Claims Saviano

Italian writer Roberto Saviano, author of the mafia exposé "Gomorrah," has made a stark claim about Venezuela. He argues the country is not simply a narco-state, but something more precise: a state that uses the drug trade as a tool to keep its leaders in power. In a new analysis, Saviano states that Venezuela now acts as a critical hub for drug trafficking. He describes its system as an advanced form of "narco-structuring," where criminal networks are deeply integrated into the state's operations. Saviano also places responsibility on Western democracies. He claims their policies have allowed the Venezuelan regime to survive and grow stronger, becoming increasingly criminalized in the process. The drug trade, he suggests, has become an instrument for the political survival of those in power.