Presidential Determination on Major Illicit Drug Transit or Major Illicit Drug Producing Countries for Fiscal Year 2010, 48369-48372 [E9-23100]

Agencies

• Executive Office of the President
• Presidential Documents

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 183 (Wednesday, September 23, 2009)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 48369-48372]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-23100]




                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 183 / Wednesday, September 23, 2009 / 
Presidential Documents

[[Page 48369]]


                Presidential Determination No. 2009-30 of September 15, 
                2009

                
 Presidential Determination on Major Illicit Drug 
                Transit or Major Illicit Drug Producing Countries for 
                Fiscal Year 2010

                Memorandum for the Secretary of State

                Pursuant to section 706(1) of the Foreign Relations 
                Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003 (Public Law 107-
                228)(FRAA), I hereby identify the following countries 
                as major drug transit or major illicit drug producing 
                countries: Afghanistan, The Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, 
                Burma, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, 
                Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, 
                Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and 
                Venezuela.

                A country's presence on the Majors List is not 
                necessarily an adverse reflection of its government's 
                counternarcotics efforts or level of cooperation with 
                the United States. Consistent with the statutory 
                definition of a major drug transit or drug producing 
                country set forth in section 481(e)(2) and (5) of the 
                Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (FAA), one 
                of the reasons that major drug transit or illicit drug 
                producing countries are placed on the list is the 
                combination of geographic, commercial, and economic 
                factors that allow drugs to transit or be produced 
                despite the concerned government's most assiduous 
                enforcement measures.

                Pursuant to section 706(2)(A) of the FRAA, I hereby 
                designate Bolivia, Burma, and Venezuela as countries 
                that have failed demonstrably during the previous 12 
                months to adhere to their obligations under 
                international counternarcotics agreements and take the 
                measures set forth in section 489(a)(1) of the FAA. 
                Attached to this report are justifications for the 
                determinations on Bolivia, Burma, and Venezuela, as 
                required by section 706(2)(B).

                I have also determined, in accordance with provisions 
                of section 706(3)(A) of the FRAA, that support for 
                programs to aid Venezuela's democratic institutions and 
                continued support for bilateral programs in Bolivia are 
                vital to the national interests of the United States.

                Afghanistan continues to be the world's largest 
                producer of opium poppy and a major source of heroin. 
                The Government of Afghanistan, under the leadership of 
                President Karzai and key governors in the provinces, 
                has demonstrated its ongoing commitment to combating 
                narcotics and has made notable improvements in this 
                regard over the past year.

                The connection between opium production, the resulting 
                narcotics trade, corruption, and the insurgency 
                continues to grow more evident in Afghanistan. Poppy 
                cultivation remains largely confined to five contiguous 
                provinces in the south where security problems greatly 
                impede counternarcotics efforts, and nearly all 
                significant poppy cultivation occurs in insecure areas 
                with active insurgent elements. Counternarcotics 
                efforts have shown greater impact where security 
                exists, where public information messages can be 
                conveyed, alternative development delivered, 
                interdiction performed, and justice carried out. While 
                the Government of Afghanistan made some progress during 
                the past year, the country must dedicate far greater 
                political will and programmatic effort to combat opium 
                trafficking and production nationwide.

                Pakistan is a major transit country for opiates and 
                hashish for markets around the world, as well as for 
                precursor chemicals moving into neighboring Afghanistan 
                where they are used for processing heroin. Opium poppy 
                cultivation in Pakistan is also a primary concern.

[[Page 48370]]

                In 2008 and 2009, religious extremist groups controlled 
                major portions of the Federally Administered Tribal 
                Areas, where most of Pakistan's poppy is grown. These 
                extremist groups also pushed into settled areas of the 
                country's Northwest Frontier Province, such as the 
                Peshawar Valley and the Swat Valley. The Government of 
                Pakistan was compelled to divert manpower and equipment 
                resources from poppy eradication efforts to contest 
                these incursions.

                The joint Narcotics Affairs Section and Pakistan's 
                Narcotics Control Cell indicated that 1,909 hectares of 
                poppy were cultivated in 2008 (approximately one 
                percent of the cultivation in Afghanistan). This is 
                down from the 2,315 hectares cultivated in 2007. In 
                2007, when the insurgent problem was not as widespread, 
                614 hectares were eradicated, bringing harvested poppy 
                down to 1,701 hectares. During 2008, there were 
                significant narcotics and precursor chemical seizures 
                in Pakistan. United States counternarcotics and border 
                security assistance programs continue to build the 
                counternarcotics capacity of law enforcement agencies, 
                especially in Baluchistan and along the Makran coast.

                As Mexico and Colombia continue to apply pressure on 
                drug traffickers, the countries of Central America are 
                increasingly targeted for trafficking, which is 
                creating serious challenges for the region. In 2008, 
                approximately 42 percent of the cocaine destined for 
                the United States transited Central America directly 
                from South America. Often unimpeded due to the region's 
                limited capabilities and resources, traffickers use 
                land routes and Central America's coastal waters for 
                illegal drug movements. The Merida Initiative, which 
                provides Central American countries $165 million for FY 
                2008 and FY 2009, offers the opportunity to boost the 
                capabilities of the region's rule of law institutions 
                and promote greater regional law enforcement 
                cooperation.

                Within the Central America region, Guatemala has been 
                listed as a major drug transit country since 1990. 
                Guatemala continues to be challenged by increasing 
                violence related to narcotics trafficking. Corruption 
                and inadequate law enforcement efforts contributed to 
                low interdiction levels during the past several years. 
                The United States continues to support the Government 
                of Guatemala to improve its counternarcotics efforts.

                In Honduras, drug traffickers have capitalized on the 
                country's lack of resources, corruption, and ungoverned 
                spaces. Despite the current political instability, 
                Honduran security forces have been conducting 
                counternarcotic operations and have already seized more 
                illegal drugs than in all of 2008. Honduras has also 
                agreed to a bilateral integrated strategy with the 
                United States to strengthen the operational 
                counternarcotics capabilities of its security and law 
                enforcement forces.

                Panama is a major drug transit country that seized 51 
                metric tons of cocaine in 2008 while working in 
                partnership with the United States. El Salvador is not 
                a primary transit country, but in 2008 the Salvadoran 
                government seized 1.4 metric tons of cocaine, 300 
                kilograms of marijuana, and nine kilograms of heroin. 
                El Salvador may see an increase in drug activity 
                corresponding with rising drug trafficking levels in 
                the eastern Pacific. The United States is increasingly 
                concerned with the large amount of drugs trafficked 
                through Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Interdiction efforts 
                in these two countries in 2008 resulted in the seizure 
                of 21.7 and 19.5 metric tons of cocaine seizures, 
                respectively.

                The trafficking of South American cocaine through 
                Nigeria and other West African countries en route to 
                Europe continues. Though the cocaine does not come to 
                the United States, the proceeds of the trafficking flow 
                back to the same organizations that move cocaine to the 
                United States, reinforcing their financial strength. 
                Drug trafficking is a destabilizing force in the region 
                and undermines good governance. Initially focused on 
                Guinea and Guinea-Bissau, drug trafficking is now a 
                serious issue facing nearly all West African countries. 
                There is limited capacity in many West African law 
                enforcement and judicial sectors to investigate and 
                prosecute the organizers of cocaine

[[Page 48371]]

                trafficking. Despite this, there have been some 
                important counternarcotics victories, most notably in 
                the arrest and successful prosecution of traffickers in 
                Sierra Leone.

                Nigeria, which remains a significant transit point for 
                narcotics destined for the United States, made 
                demonstrable progress in 2008 by combating narcotics 
                through increased budgetary support of key 
                counternarcotics and corruption agencies, continued 
                evaluation of suspicious transaction reports, and 
                acceptable progress in the arrests of drug kingpins, 
                with one kingpin arrested in 2008 and another in early 
                2009. Drug seizures were down slightly from a high in 
                2007. However, this development is likely attributable 
                to a decrease in the use of Nigeria's international 
                airports as a transshipment point after the successful 
                deployment of narcotics scanning machines by the 
                Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). At the 
                same time, there was little progress in reform to 
                expedite Nigerian extradition procedures, or to amend 
                its Money Laundering Act to bring it in line with 
                international standards. Cooperation between the NDLEA 
                and U.S. law enforcement agencies remains robust.

                International donors and organizations are working to 
                assist West African governments in their 
                counternarcotics efforts. The United States supports 
                these efforts to preserve and protect stability and 
                positive growth in this region.

                The United States continues to maintain a strong and 
                productive law enforcement relationship with Canada. 
                Both countries are making significant efforts to 
                disrupt the two-way flow of drugs, bulk currency, and 
                other contraband. Canada remains a significant producer 
                of MDMA (ecstasy) and high-potency marijuana that is 
                trafficked to the United States. While Canada's passage 
                of several additional regulations in recent years has 
                reduced the large scale diversion and smuggling of bulk 
                precursor chemicals across the border, the increasing 
                diversion of these chemicals to the production of 
                methamphetamine within Canada could lead to greater 
                methamphetamine availability in the United States. The 
                frequent mixing of methamphetamine and other illegal 
                drugs into pills that are marketed as MDMA by Canada-
                based criminal groups poses a particularly significant 
                public health risk in the United States. The United 
                States Government is appreciative of Canada's efforts 
                to address these and other drug-related challenges, 
                including through bilateral initiatives and 
                multilateral forums.

                The Government of India maintains a credible record of 
                regulating its licit opium grown for the production of 
                pharmaceutical products through licensed opium farmers 
                and monitoring of poppy cultivation sites. Diversion of 
                licit opium crops into illegal markets continues 
                despite India's determined efforts to control such 
                activity. Illicit opium poppy production has also been 
                observed in certain areas of the country, such as West 
                Bengal and the State of Uttaranchal. Enforcement 
                agencies continue to eradicate illicit opium poppy 
                crops although the actual number of hectares destroyed 
                has declined in recent years. Indian authorities have 
                made marked efforts to control the illicit drug trade 
                as opium and heroin smuggled from Afghanistan and 
                Pakistan enters India across the India-Pakistan border 
                and is trafficked to destinations outside of India.

                Indian authorities continue to pursue precursor 
                chemical trafficking organizations operating in the 
                country and to cooperate with international law 
                enforcement counterparts to interdict the flow of 
                narcotics. The Government of India has made noteworthy 
                international efforts to target the misuse of internet 
                pharmacies for trafficking controlled and non-
                controlled pharmaceuticals. Law enforcement 
                undertakings in this area have resulted in numerous 
                arrests and asset seizures in both the United States 
                and India.

[[Page 48372]]

                You are hereby authorized and directed to submit this 
                report under section 706 of the FRAA, transmit it to 
                the Congress, and publish it in the Federal Register.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    Washington, September 15, 2009.

[FR Doc. E9-23100
Filed 9-22-09; 8:45 am]
Billing code 4710-10-P