As Sasha Djordjevic from the Global Initiative to Combat Transnational Criminal Organizations (GI-TOC) points out to Radio Free Europe, Venezuela is important for cocaine smuggling, in which criminal networks from the Western Balkans are involved, because it constitutes a “strategic corridor outbound from Latin America to the Atlantic.”
Organized criminal groups from the Balkans also have connections in Venezuela. This is evidenced by cases of cocaine seizures, arrests and judicial proceedings that have been completed or are still ongoing. These groups have been identified by international organizations, such as EUROPOL and INTERPOL, as among the main actors in cocaine trafficking from Latin American countries to Europe.
Venezuela has come into the international spotlight as a transit country for cocaine trafficking following the arrest of ousted leader Nicolas Maduro by United States forces in early January.
Maduro will face trial in the United States on charges that he oversaw a cocaine trafficking ring that collaborated with violent groups including the Mexican Sinaloa and Zetas cartels, the leftist Colombian FARC rebels and the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang. Maduro denied the charges in his first hearing in a New York court.
WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF VENEZUELA FOR CRIMINAL GROUPS FROM THE BALKANS?
As Sasha Djordjevic of the Global Initiative to Combat Transnational Criminal Organizations (GI-TOC) points out to Radio Free Europe, Venezuela is important for cocaine smuggling, in which criminal networks from the Western Balkans are involved, because it constitutes a “strategic corridor outbound from Latin America to the Atlantic.” From there, most of the cocaine goes either directly to Europe, or through West Africa to Europe.
According to him, for criminal groups from the Balkans, Venezuela is important, but not the main destination for cocaine trafficking from Latin America to Europe. In this sense, countries like Colombia and Brazil are much more important, and in recent years also Ecuador.
The arrest of Maduro and the US actions against criminal groups involved in cocaine trafficking, according to Djordjevic, will not have much impact on these groups, whose members originate from the Balkan countries. “Given that these groups have always been flexible, I assume that those groups that have used Venezuela will find alternative routes in these countries where, in my opinion, there are much more important bases,” he estimates.
WHO ARE THE MAIN ACTORS?
The links of criminal groups from the Balkans to Venezuela were revealed through the seizure of cocaine off the coast of Aruba, near Venezuela, in February 2020. In that case, the Dutch navy stopped the ship “Aressa”, which had previously been anchored in the Venezuelan port of Guarano. 5 tons of cocaine were seized on board the ship. During the operation, 11 Montenegrin citizens, members of the ship’s crew, were arrested. According to the Montenegrin Police Directorate, the seizure of cocaine in Aruba was the result of cooperation between Montenegro, the United Kingdom, Serbia and the Netherlands. Before the court in Aruba, the Montenegrin citizens were sentenced in March 2021 to sentences of nine to 15 years in prison.
EUROPOL linked the cocaine seized in Aruba to Serbian citizen Miroslav Starčević, who was arrested in May 2023 along with 12 other people. They are accused by authorities in Serbia of international drug trafficking. As confirmed to Radio Free Europe by the Supreme Court in Belgrade, the trial against this group is nearing its conclusion.
Serbian police have described Starcevic as the main leader of “the largest criminal drug trafficking organization from the Balkans” that was uncovered with the help of EUROPOL.
According to the Serbian Police, the cartel led by Starčević is behind shipments of many tons of cocaine that have arrived in Europe from Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, but also through West Africa. Starčević’s group in GI-TOC reports is linked to the Kavač clan, a criminal clan originating from Montenegro. The Kavač and Shkalar clans are from Montenegro. These are two armed clans, and during the clashes that have taken place since 2014, more than 60 people have lost their lives.
NO RESPONSE FROM THE INTERIOR MINISTRIES OF SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO
It is not known whether and to what extent criminal groups, whose members originate from Serbia and Montenegro, are still involved in the cocaine trafficking linked to Venezuela. The Serbian and Montenegrin Interior Ministries have not responded to these questions as of the publication of this text. EUROPOL briefly told REL that the organization does not have direct cooperation with Venezuela, so data on the involvement of criminal groups from the Balkans is obtained indirectly, from the police of these countries.
Criminal groups from the Western Balkans, in reports by international agencies such as EUROPOL and INTERPOL, are considered important for cocaine trafficking from Latin America, mainly towards Western European countries. According to GI-TOC reports, they have built this position over decades, mainly through direct links with cocaine producing and distributing countries.
WHY IS VENEZUELA SPECIAL?
What makes Venezuela interesting, says GI-TOC’s Djordjevic, is the use of sea and air transport for cocaine being shipped out of the country. “They are small planes, for which the control and monitoring is much lower than for commercial flights,” he explains.
Venezuela does not produce cocaine, but according to reports from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Venezuela is considered one of the main transit countries for cocaine, which is mainly produced in Colombia and then distributed to the United States and Europe. Strong indications that parts of the Venezuelan state apparatus are involved in criminal activities come from the findings of the Global Crime Index, according to which Venezuela is ranked in the top ten percent of countries in the world for the influence of criminal actors within the country. The annual reports for this index are published by GI-TOC, a non-governmental organization based in Geneva. In the latest report published in November 2025, it is stated that Colombian guerrilla groups “manage supply chains in collaboration with corrupt Venezuelan officials.” “The groups have integrated themselves into local communities, often manipulating young people into working for them under the guise of legal employment, and have taken over local justice systems and governance structures,” the report notes.
It adds that the symbiotic relationship between Colombian guerrilla groups and Venezuelan state officials has facilitated their operations, resulting in “minimal violence but considerable control over border Regions.” (RFE)