For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
September 15, 2003
Memorandum
Memorandum for the Secretary of State
SUBJECT: Presidential Determination on Major Drug Transit or Major Illicit Drug Producing Countries for 2004
Presidential Determination No. 2003-38
Consistent with section 706(1) of the Foreign Relations
Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003 (Public Law 107-228) (the "FRAA"),
I hereby identify the following countries as major drug-transit or
major illicit drug producing countries: Afghanistan, The Bahamas,
Bolivia, Brazil, Burma, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador,
Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan,
Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Thailand, Venezuela, and Vietnam.
The Majors List applies by its terms to "countries." The United
States Government interprets the term broadly to include entities that
exercise autonomy over actions or omissions that could lead to a
decision to place them on the list and, sub-sequently, to determine
their eligibility for certification. 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)(5)
of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (the "FAA"), one of
the reasons that major drug-transit or drug producing countries are
placed on the list is the combination of geographical, commercial, and
economic factors that allow drugs to transit or be produced despite the
concerned governments most assiduous enforcement measures.
Consistent with section 706(2)(A) of the FRAA, I hereby designate
Burma and Haiti as countries that have failed demonstrably during the
previous 12 months to adhere to their obligations under inter-national
counternarcotics agreements and take the measures set forth in section
489(a)(1) of the FAA. Attached to this report are justifications
(statements of explanation) for each of the countries so designated, as
required by section 706(2)(B).
I have also determined, in accordance with provisions of section
706(3)(A) of the FRAA, that provision of U.S. assistance to Haiti in FY
2004 is vital to the national interests of the United States.
Combating the threat of synthetic drugs remains a priority,
particularly the threat from club drugs, including MDMA (Ecstasy).
Since January, we have redoubled our efforts with The Netherlands, from
which the majority of U.S. MDMA seizures originate. I commend the
Government of The Netherlands for its efforts to address this scourge,
including increased enforcement, improved risk assessment and targeting
capabilities of passenger aircraft
and cargo, and international cooperation to control precursor
chemicals. I urge the Government of The Netherlands to focus its
efforts on dis-mantling the significant criminal organizations
responsible for this illicit trade, using all tools available to law
enforce-ment. Continued progress in implementing our joint action
plan, developed in March, should have a significant impact on the
production and transit of MDMA from The Netherlands to the United
States. Although we have seen a stabilization of MDMA use rates
domestically, there is an increase in the number of countries in which
MDMA is produced and trafficked. We will continue to monitor the
threat from synthetic drugs and the emerging trends.
The United States and Canada are both targeted by international
trafficking organizations. We continue to work closely with the
Government of Canada to stem the flow of illicit drugs to our countries
and across our common borders. The United States remains concerned
about the diversion of large quantities of precursor chemicals from
Canada into the United States for use in producing methamphetamines.
We hope that Canadas newly implemented control regulations will disrupt
that flow. The United States is also concerned about widespread
Canadian cultivation of high-potency marijuana, significant amounts of
which are smuggled into the United States from Canada. We will work
with the Government of Canada in the coming year to combat these shared
threats to the security and health of our citizens.
In the 8 months since my January determination that Guatemala had
failed demonstrably in regard to its counternarcotics
responsi-bilities, the Government of Guatemala has made efforts to
improve its institutional capabilities, adhere to its obli-gations
under international counternarcotics agreements, and take measures set
forth in U.S. law. These initial steps show Guatemalas willingness to
better its counternarcotics practices, but the permanence of these
improvements has yet to be demonstrated. I expect Guatemala to
continue its efforts and to demonstrate further progress in the coming
year.
We are deeply concerned about heroin and methamphetamine linked to
North Korea being trafficked to East Asian countries, and are
increasingly convinced that state agents and enterprises in the DPRK
are involved in the narcotics trade. While we suspect opium poppy is
cultivated in the DPRK, reliable information confirming the extent of
opium production is currently lacking. There are also clear
indications that North Koreans traffic in, and probably manufacture,
methamphetamine. In recent years, authorities in the region have
routinely seized shipments of methamphetamine and/or heroin that had
been transferred to traffickers ships from North Korean vessels. The
April 2003 seizure of 125 kilograms of heroin smuggled to Australia
aboard the North Korean-owned vessel "Pong Su" is the latest and
largest seizure of heroin pointing to North Korean complicity in the
drug trade. Although there is no evidence that narcotics originating
in or transiting North Korea reach the United States, the United States
is intensifying its efforts to stop North Korean involvement in illicit
narcotics production and trafficking and to enhance law-enforcement
cooperation with affected countries in the region to achieve that
objective.
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.
GEORGE W. BUSH
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