Venezuela destroys clandestine airstrips

Combat helicopters and F-16 fighter jets opened fire at a clandestine airstrip in Venezuela's remote southern plains on Friday as part of a government counter-drug effort.

Smoke rose from the bombed airstrip as helicopters hovered above the savannah.

Army Gen. Jesus Gonzalez told state television that so far this year, the military has demolished 67 airstrips used by drug traffickers to smuggle cocaine from neighboring Colombia to the United States and Europe. Another 90 are to be destroyed next week.

"We are carrying out this operation to reaffirm the conviction and commitment of our military in the fight against the drug problem," Gonzalez said.

U.S. and Colombian officials say Venezuela is a key conduit for Colombian cocaine and fault Venezuela's government for what they call lax enforcement and high-level corruption. Some critics say the corruption lets smugglers move drugs through Venezuela's commercial airports.

President Hugo Chavez counters that Washington and Bogota have unfairly identified his country as a drug haven for political reasons.

Chavez, an outspoken foe of Washington, suspended cooperation with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in 2005, accusing its agents of spying. Washington denies the allegation.

But Venezuelan officials have repeatedly expressed willingness to work with U.S. counter-drug agents despite a formal accord. And Chavez points to recent large drug seizures as signs of success in efforts to fight trafficking.