News

USIS Washington 
File

07 December 1998

TEXT: CLINTON REPORTS TO CONGRESS ON DRUG-PRODUCING COUNTRIES

(Iran and Malaysia removed from list of major drug producers) (1110)


WASHINGTON -- President Clinton has sent to Congress his annual report
on major illicit drug-producing or drug-transit countries.


Afghanistan, Aruba, The Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Burma,
Cambodia, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala,
Haiti, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan,
Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Taiwan, Thailand, Venezuela, and Vietnam were
all listed in that category, Clinton said in a December 4 letter to
four congressional committee chairmen.


The president noted that he had removed Iran and Malaysia from the
list of major drug-producing countries and "designated them as
countries of concern."


Following is the White House text of Clinton's letter:



(begin text)



THE WHITE HOUSE



Office of the Press Secretary

December 7, 1998



TEXT OF A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT TO THE CHAIRMEN AND RANKING
MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEES ON APPROPRIATIONS AND INTERNATIONAL
RELATIONS AND THE SENATE COMMITTEES ON APPROPRIATIONS AND FOREIGN
RELATIONS


December 4, 1998



In accordance with the provisions of section 490(h) of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, I have determined that the
following countries are major illicit drug-producing or drug-transit
countries:


Afghanistan, Aruba, The Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Burma,
Cambodia, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala,
Haiti, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan,
Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Taiwan, Thailand, Venezuela, and Vietnam.


This year I have removed Iran and Malaysia from the list of major
drug-producing countries and designated them as countries of concern.


Iran: On the list as a major drug producer since 1987, Iran has been a
traditional opium producing country, with illicit poppy cultivation
well beyond the statutory threshold limit of 1,000 hectares. A United
States Government review in 1993 determined that there were at least
3,500 hectares of illicit opium poppy under cultivation in the
country.


Over the past few years, the Government of Iran has reported success
in eradicating illicit opium poppy cultivation. We were unable to test
these claims until this year, when a United States Government review
found no evidence of any significant poppy cultivation in the
traditional growing areas. While we cannot rule out some cultivation
in remote parts of the country, it is unlikely that there would be
enough to meet the threshold definition of a major drug producing
country.


Although important quantities of opiates continue to transit Iran en
route to Europe, the United States Government currently has no
evidence to support a judgment that significant quantities of these
drugs are headed to the United States. Therefore, Iran is not a major
drug-transit country under section 481(e)(5) of the Foreign Assistance
Act.


Malaysia: Although Malaysia's geographic location makes it a feasible
transit route for heroin to the United States, as had been the case in
the past, we have no indication that drugs significantly affecting the
United States have transited the country in the past few years.


I have further determined that the following countries or regions are
of concern for the purpose of U.S. counternarcotics efforts:


Netherlands Antilles: Though there is continuing drug activity taking
place around the Netherlands Antilles, especially in the vicinity of
St. Maarten, we have only anecdotal information that significant
quantities of drugs bound for the United States are involved.


Turkey and Other Balkan Route Countries: I continue to be concerned
about the large volume of Southwest Asian heroin moving through Turkey
and neighboring countries (including Bulgaria, Greece, the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia, Bosnia, Croatia, and the Former Yugoslavian
Republic of Macedonia) to Western Europe along the Balkan Route. There
is no clear evidence, however, that this heroin significantly affects
the United States -- as required for a country to be designated a
major transit country.


Syria and Lebanon: I removed Syria and Lebanon from the list of major
drug producers last year after the United States Government determined
that there was no significant opium poppy cultivation in Lebanon's
Biqa' Valley. A review again this year confirmed that there is still
no evidence of significant replanting of opium poppy and no evidence
that drugs transiting these countries significantly affect the United
States.


The relevant agencies continue, however, to monitor the situation.



Cuba: Cuba's geographical position astride one of the principal
Caribbean trafficking routes to the United States makes the country a
logical candidate for consideration for the majors list. Interdiction
operations elsewhere in the region are driving drug smugglers
increasingly to fly over Cuba to drop cocaine into Cuban and Bahamian
waters. This trend makes it important for Cuba to take effective
measures to stem the flow and to cooperate with others in doing so.


Major Cannabis Producers: While Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, the
Philippines, and South Africa are important cannabis producers, they
do not appear on this list because I have determined, pursuant to
section 481(e)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act, that in all cases the
illicit cannabis is either consumed locally or exported to countries
other than the United States, and thus such illicit cannabis
production does not significantly affect the United States.


Central Asia: United States Government agencies this year again
conducted reviews of potential cultivation sites in Tajikistan and
Uzbekistan, traditional opium poppy growing areas of the former Soviet
Union. These reviews indicated no evidence of significant opium poppy
cultivation.


Finally, I would note that geography makes Central America a logical
conduit and transshipment area for South American drugs bound for
Mexico and the United States, and that there has been evidence of
increased trafficking activity in this region over the past year. Its
location between Colombia and Mexico, combined with thousands of miles
of coastline, the availability of a number of container-handling ports
in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras, the presence of the
Pan-American Highway, and limited law enforcement capability, have
made the isthmus attractive to the drug trade. Hurricane Mitch has
disrupted traffic flow through the region, but over the longer term
resumption or even an increase in trafficking activity remains
possible.


Consequently, I am concerned about drug trafficking through Costa
Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The appropriate agencies
will continue to compile data on drug flows and their effect on the
United States in order to determine whether any are major drug-transit
countries. At the same time, I expressly reiterate my commitment to
support the efforts of these governments to recover from the ravages
of Hurricane Mitch, and to ensure that drug traffickers do not take
advantage of this tragedy to make inroads into the region.




Sincerely,



WILLIAM J. CLINTON



(end text)