Presidential Determination on Major Drug Transit or Major Illicit Drug Producing Countries for Fiscal Year 2014, 58855-58858 [2013-23433]

Agencies

• Executive Office of the President

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 186 (Wednesday, September 25, 2013)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 58855-58858]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-23433]




                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 186 / Wednesday, September 25, 2013 / 
Presidential Documents

___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

[[Page 58855]]

                Presidential Determination No. 2013-14 of September 13, 
                2013

                
Presidential Determination on Major Drug Transit 
                or Major Illicit Drug Producing Countries for Fiscal 
                Year 2014

                Memorandum for the Secretary of State

                Pursuant to section 706(1) of the Foreign Relations 
                Authorization Act, FY 2003 (Public Law 107-228) (FRAA), 
                I hereby identify the following countries as major drug 
                transit and/or major illicit drug producing countries: 
                Afghanistan, The Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Burma, 
                Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, 
                El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, 
                Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, 
                Peru, and Venezuela.

                A country's presence on the foregoing list is not a 
                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 illicit 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 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, even if a government 
                has carried out the most assiduous narcotics control 
                law enforcement measures.

                In addition, the law requires identification of any 
                country on the list that has ``failed demonstrably'' 
                during the previous 12 months to make substantial 
                efforts to adhere to its obligations under 
                international counternarcotics agreements and take 
                certain counternarcotics measures as cited in section 
                489(a)(1) of the FAA.

                Countries found to have failed demonstrably may receive 
                certain U.S. assistance only if the President 
                determines that provision of such assistance is vital 
                to the national interests of the United States, or if 
                subsequent to the designation, the President determines 
                that the country has made substantial efforts to meet 
                the requirement.

                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 make substantial efforts to adhere to their 
                obligations under international counternarcotics 
                agreements and take the measures set forth in section 
                489(a)(1) of the FAA. Included in this report are 
                justifications for the determinations on Bolivia, 
                Burma, and Venezuela, as required by section 706(2)(B) 
                of the FRAA. Explanations for these decisions are 
                published with this determination.

                I have also determined, in accordance with provisions 
                of section 706(3)(A) of the FRAA, that support for 
                programs to aid Burma and Venezuela is vital to the 
                national interests of the United States.

                Drug Producing and Trafficking Trends in Strategic 
                Areas

                In addition to the listed countries, the following 
                notable drug production and trafficking trends were 
                observed in the preparation of this determination.

                Afghanistan

                Afghanistan is the world's largest grower of illegal 
                opium poppy and produces approximately 90 percent of 
                the world's illicit opium. Nearly all poppy cultivation 
                occurs in the southern and western parts of the 
                country, especially Helmand Province. Instability in 
                these regions allows criminal

[[Page 58856]]

                networks, insurgent groups, and illicit cultivation and 
                drug production to thrive.

                Most recently, opium production in Afghanistan declined 
                in spite of an increase in the total ground area under 
                poppy cultivation. The drop stemmed primarily from crop 
                disease and poor conditions as some farmers growing 
                illegal crops moved to less hospitable agricultural 
                growing regions. Countering the opium trade remains an 
                uphill struggle and a long-term challenge. Working with 
                Afghan partners, international allies and multilateral 
                organizations, the United States continues to support 
                the commitment to establish effective and sustainable 
                Afghan-led programs that are critical to Afghan 
                security and regional stability.

                Afghanistan has continued to take greater 
                responsibility to design and implement its own anti-
                narcotics programs. The government aggressively 
                eradicated illicit opium poppy during the most recent 
                growing season, as well as carrying out alternative 
                livelihoods and demand reduction policies. To help stem 
                the country's growing domestic drug abuse, the United 
                States has funded a scientifically based survey of 
                urban areas to determine prevalence of use, including 
                among children, and is funding more than 60 in- and 
                out-patient drug treatment centers. The United States 
                supports a wide range of other illegal crop controls, 
                alternative development, drug awareness and treatment 
                projects, including training and treatment service 
                delivery programs implemented through international 
                organizations.

                As we approach the 2014 withdrawal of international 
                forces from Afghanistan, the country requires continued 
                international support. Even greater efforts are needed 
                to bring counternarcotics programs into the mainstream 
                of social and economic development strategies to 
                successfully curb illegal drug cultivation and 
                production of opium as well as the high use of opiates 
                among the Afghan population.

                The Caribbean

                Criminal activity in Caribbean states, as a drug-
                transit zone for illegal substances, is of deep concern 
                to the United States. United States-bound trafficking 
                in cocaine through the Caribbean dramatically increased 
                from five percent of the total in 2011 to nine percent 
                in 2012. A central response to this threat by the 
                United States and 13 Caribbean partner nations is the 
                Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) which is 
                specifically designed to address citizen safety by 
                fostering a wide range of crime prevention programs.

                Although the problems are daunting, concrete results 
                are being achieved through the support of CBSI, 
                European organizations, and the Organization of 
                American States (OAS) Inter-American Drug Abuse Control 
                Commission. Through CBSI, some 2,500 Caribbean police 
                officers were trained in the Dominican Republic, a 
                country that has undertaken an aggressive 
                counternarcotics institution building program. 
                Moreover, the United States is training thousands of 
                Caribbean officials elsewhere in the region on 
                fundamental subjects such as crime scene and homicide 
                investigation. CBSI programs are upgrading the ability 
                of Caribbean partners to investigate complex financial 
                crimes, manage forfeited or seized assets, and 
                prosecute criminals. A range of programs are building 
                awareness, upgrading treatment facilities, and 
                fostering the creation of drug courts as alternatives 
                to incarceration for non-violent offenders. The work of 
                a violent crimes task force in St. Kitts and Nevis, 
                mentored by U.S. officials, helped to reduce homicides 
                in St. Kitts and Nevis by 41 percent.

                Central America

                The seven Central American nations are considered major 
                drug transit countries that significantly affect the 
                United States: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, 
                Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. United 
                States Government analysts estimate that approximately 
                90 percent of illegal drugs from South America destined 
                for the United States are smuggled through the seven 
                Central American countries and Mexican corridor. Of 
                this amount, nearly

[[Page 58857]]

                80 percent stops first in a Central American country 
                before onward shipment to Mexico. The Central American 
                Regional Security Initiative (CARSI), initiated in 
                2008, supports local government efforts to strengthen 
                the rule of law, lower homicide rates, and deny 
                traffickers safe haven.

                Under CARSI, U.S.-funded training, equipment, and 
                technical assistance provided to Central America has 
                contributed to concrete success. The model precinct 
                program in El Salvador, for example, has helped reduce 
                the homicide rate by 70 percent in one crime-ridden 
                community. The CARSI-supported program to create 
                transnational anti-gang units is expanding their 
                criminal investigative leads, especially against the 
                MS-13 and M-18 gangs. These criminal gangs have 
                significant drug trafficking and other criminal links 
                in major U.S. cities. Anti-gang units in Central 
                America led to a homicide arrest in Oklahoma City, the 
                prosecution of felony extortions in Annapolis, 
                Maryland, and the capture of one of the FBI's top ten 
                most-wanted fugitives, a suspect who was arrested in El 
                Salvador.

                Countries are also strengthening cooperation through 
                the Central American Integrated System (SICA) to 
                promote citizen security and other related programs. 
                Multilateral cooperation to stem the smuggling of 
                essential and precursor chemicals from China used to 
                produce illegal synthetic drugs in Central America is 
                an important component of SICA's mandate. This SICA 
                undertaking is aligned with the growing abuse during 
                the last decade of new psychoactive substances (NPS), 
                the production of which is a growing problem in Central 
                America.

                The illegal production of NPS is dependent upon access 
                to a wide range of chemicals. Successful interdictions 
                of unauthorized chemicals in Central America have 
                created the urgent need for effective management and 
                disposal systems. To support the overall effort, U.S. 
                funding in 2013 and 2014 to the OAS Department of 
                Public Security will help provide Central American 
                countries with the development of relevant 
                infrastructure to properly process and destroy these 
                illegally shipped chemicals.

                West Africa

                Although no West African country is currently listed as 
                a major drug producer or transit zone, the region is a 
                growing concern. The destabilizing effects of 
                increasing drug trafficking in West Africa with direct 
                links to transnational crime organizations based in 
                Latin America pose a direct threat to stability on the 
                African continent. The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime 
                estimates that cocaine trafficking in West Africa 
                generates approximately $1.25 billion at wholesale 
                prices in Europe.

                African leaders understand that growing criminal 
                enterprises in their countries negatively impact 
                national goals for peace and security. Participants at 
                the 2013 Extraordinary Summit of the Economic Community 
                for West Africa highlighted the need for cooperation to 
                counter drug trafficking in the region. Such efforts by 
                nations in the region are supported by the United 
                States Government's West Africa Cooperative Security 
                Initiative, which will provide some $50 million in 2013 
                to combat transnational organized crime. Projects 
                include, for example, anti-corruption training in 
                Sierra Leone, support for a regional law enforcement 
                training center in Ghana, and the development of 
                specially trained counternarcotics law enforcement 
                investigative units.

                Drug trafficking in West Africa is of particular 
                concern to Latin America and the United States. Law 
                enforcement investigations show that illegal proceeds 
                generated by criminal activities in African nations 
                flow back to the Western Hemisphere, bolstering 
                trafficking organizations' financial strength and 
                ability to fuel the drug trade in producing and 
                consuming countries, including OAS member states.

[[Page 58858]]

                You are authorized and directed to submit this 
                determination, with its Bolivia, Burma, and Venezuela 
                memoranda of justification, under section 706 of the 
                FRAA, to the Congress, and publish it in the Federal 
                Register.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    Washington, September 13, 2013.

[FR Doc. 2013-23433
Filed 9-24-13; 8:45 am]
Billing code 4710-10