# The Colombian air bridge through Venezuela

> **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou.
>
> Cite as: "The Colombian air bridge through Venezuela," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-colombian-air-bridge-through-venezuela/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*What John Kiriakou says his own Senate Foreign Relations Committee investigation found about drug trafficking through Venezuela — that it exists, that it consists of Colombian aircraft landing there en route to Africa, and that there is no evidence Nicolás Maduro controls it or knows when and where it happens.*

- **Source of the finding:** Kiriakou''s own investigation as senior investigator, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
- **Is there trafficking:** 'There is some drug trafficking through Venezuela'
- **What it consists of:** Colombian drug planes landing in Venezuela to pick up, drop off or unload, then continuing on to Africa
- **Maduro''s role:** 'That is not to say that Maduro controls it or even has any idea when and where it''s happening'
- **His verdict on the official account:** 'It''s not clear-cut like the administration wants you to think it is'

**The Colombian air bridge through Venezuela** is what [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) says he found when he examined the question on behalf of the [Senate Foreign Relations Committee](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/senate-foreign-relations-committee), where he served as senior investigator — a finding he raised in October 2025 against the American government's account of [the boat strikes in the Caribbean](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/venezuela-boat-strikes).

*"The US has long accused Maduro of drug trafficking,"* he says. *"I did an investigation when I was the senior investigator on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and part of that investigation was drug trafficking through Venezuela."*[1]

His first finding concedes the premise in part: *"there is some drug trafficking through Venezuela."* His second removes what the accusation depends on: *"that is not to say that Maduro controls it or even has any idea when and where it's happening."*[1]

What he found instead was a transit route belonging to someone else. *"What it is, is Colombian drug planes landing in Venezuela to, you know, pick up, to drop off, unload, who knows, and then continuing on to Africa."*[1][2]

His conclusion is about the certainty being claimed rather than about the trade: *"it's not clear-cut like the administration wants you to think it is."*[2]

## See also

- [Venezuela Boat Strikes](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/venezuela-boat-strikes)
- [Senate Foreign Relations Committee](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/senate-foreign-relations-committee)
- [Maduro Capture](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/maduro-capture)
- [The West Africa cocaine route](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-west-africa-cocaine-route)
- [The Stratfor cables on Venezuela](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-stratfor-cables-on-venezuela)

## Sources

1. DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou: “Gaza-istan?” (2025-11-01), at 28:04. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7-d0Y6eESc&t=1684s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-11-01-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra-deprogram-with-ted-rall-and-john-kiriakou-gaz/
2. DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou: “Gaza-istan?” (2025-11-01), at 28:34. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7-d0Y6eESc&t=1714s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-11-01-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra-deprogram-with-ted-rall-and-john-kiriakou-gaz/

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From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-colombian-air-bridge-through-venezuela/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt