US Coast Guard seizes ton of cocaine from Venezuelan fishing boat

The U.S. Coast Guard has seized 907 kilograms (2,000 pounds) of cocaine from a Venezuelan fishing vessel in the Caribbean Sea. The U.S. Embassy in Caracas said Wednesday that the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted the vessel northeast of Barbados last weekend and took the boat's five crew members into custody. Two claimed to be Venezuelan citizens. Two other crew members said they were Mexican, and the fifth claimed to be Swedish. Venezuela is a key conduit for Colombian cocaine destined for the U.S. and Europe. U.S. officials say lax enforcement and high-level corruption has allowed drug smuggling through Venezuela to increase in recent years.