[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 75 (Wednesday, June 15, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 15, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                 THE GROWING INTERNATIONAL DRUG PROBLEM

 Mr. DeCONCINI. Mr. President, there is an issue of great 
importance which I feel needs to be addressed immediately--drug 
trafficking--which has reached enormous proportions throughout the 
world. Recently, I addressed the serious drug production and 
trafficking problem in Syria where 90 percent of all arable land in 
Syria's Bekaa Valley is being used to cultivate and transship 
narcotics. But the incredible drug trade boom is not limited to Syria. 
The situation in Southeast Asia is equally appalling. The Golden 
Triangle is fast becoming the leader in illegal narcotics cultivation 
in the world. The Golden Triangle area of Laos, Burma, and Thailand 
cultivated 194,720 hectares of opium in 1993, an amount equal to the 
cocaine cultivation in the Andean mountain region. Yet little attention 
is being focused on this enormous problem.
  Much of the opium produced in the Golden Triangle passes through 
Nigeria before reaching Europe or the United States. We cannot 
hypocritically proclaim our support for the universal war on drugs and 
then ignore this growing problem in the Golden Triangle. The situation 
is quickly becoming out of control. We are on the brink of catastrophe, 
with the Golden Triangle at the epicenter.
  As I mentioned above, Nigeria also poses a pressing problem. In 
Africa, Nigeria is the main transfer point for narcotics from Southeast 
Asia and South America. Levels of corruption in the Nigerian Customs 
Service have reached alarming proportions even though the Nigerian 
Government recently purged the customs service of the violators of the 
law. Unfortunately, history shows that bribery will quickly convert new 
customs officials to the corrupted way of life.
  Nigeria has few major dealers internally since there is a very low 
level of narcotics cultivation in the country, but transshipment of 
drugs is a horrendous problem. Nigeria is the main transfer point for 
drugs, especially cocaine from Brazil and opium from the Golden 
Triangle. Sadly, there is no significant antidrug trafficking program 
in Nigeria because the Government has no motivation to do so. By 
cutting down on the drug flow, they will also be cutting down on the 
cash flow, and Nigeria is already an impoverished nation. A solution 
must be found to combat the torrent of narcotics pouring through 
Nigeria.
  Mr. President, every one of these situations is critical. The time to 
act is now, because this problem will not go away. The longer we delay, 
the bigger the problem will become. We cannot afford to stand idly by 
while these areas produce ton after ton of illegal narcotics which may 
end up on our streets and maim and kill our youth. The war on drugs 
must be applied equally to all corners of the globe. I hope the 
administration and my colleagues in the Senate will pay attention to 
the warning signs of this growing international drug trade, or we will 
pay a far higher price for our inattention and inaction down the 
road.

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