Venezuela (AP):

Venezuelan authorities have seized about two tons of cocaine and arrested three suspects in their largest drug bust in recent months, the country's top counter-drug official said yesterday.

Nestor Reverol, director of Venezuela's National Anti-Drug Agency, said police and soldiers discovered 4,370 pounds (1,983 kilograms) of cocaine during a raid on a ranch in central Miranda state on Saturday. Three suspects, a Colombian citizen and two Venezuelans, were arrested.

Reverol hailed the action as "another tough blow" against smugglers using Venezuela as part of a cocaine trail towards the United States and Europe. "We ratify the Venezuelan state's commitment in the head-on fight against drug trafficking."

The smugglers planned to load the cocaine on to a vessel along the coast, he said. In a separate case, police seized 1,830 pounds (830 kilograms) of marijuana at a roadside checkpoint in the western state of Trujillo.

Reverol said Venezuelan authorities have confiscated more than 18 tons of cocaine so far this year and arrested more than 2,000 drug-related suspects.

Anti-drug initiatives under the government of President Hugo Chávez have been a sore point between Venezuela and the United States since 2005, when Chávez suspended cooperation with the US Drug Enforcement Administration after accusing its agents of espionage, an accusation the DEA denies.