Trump removes Venezuela from US list of countries failing to fight drugs

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday removed Venezuela from a list of countries that Washington said "failed demonstrably" to meet international counternarcotics obligations, citing increased cooperation with the interim government.

"Given the positive advances achieved under the leadership of Interim President Delcy Rodriguez, I have determined that Venezuela should no longer be designated as having failed demonstrably," Trump said in a document submitted to Congress.

The move comes as the US said political changes in Venezuela have created new opportunities for cooperation with governments in South America.

Trump said his administration was seeing "increasing cooperation" from the Venezuelan interim government in efforts to combat drug trafficking organizations.

He specifically cited the removal of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the killing of Jose Antonio Tovar, known as "El Nino Guerrero," whom he described as the leader of the Tren de Aragua criminal organization.

Trump also said he expected continued and measurable progress from the Venezuelan government in dismantling what Washington calls narcoterrorist groups and disrupting drug trafficking through Venezuela toward the US.

Venezuela, however, remains on a separate US list of major drug transit or illicit drug-producing countries for fiscal year 2027.

The list includes 23 countries, among them Mexico, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru in Latin America, as well as China, India, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The US said inclusion on the broader list does not necessarily reflect a government's current counternarcotics efforts or its level of cooperation with Washington.

Countries on the "failed demonstrably" list include Afghanistan, Bolivia, Burma (Myanmar) and Colombia for the previous 12 months.

Washington said continued US assistance to Bolivia, Myanmar and Colombia is vital to its national interests despite their designation.

Under US law, the president is required to notify Congress annually of countries considered major drug transit or illicit drug-producing nations and those deemed to have failed to meet their international counternarcotics obligations.