    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book I)]
    [February 2, 1995]
    [Pages 156-157]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Letter to Congressional Leaders on Major Narcotics Producing and Transit
    Countries
    February 2, 1995

    Dear Mr. Chairman:
        In accordance with 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, The
    Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Burma, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic,
    Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Jamaica, Laos,
    Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru,
    Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and Venezuela. These countries have
    been selected on the basis of information from the April 1, 1994,
    International Narcotics Control Strategy Report and from other United
    States Government sources.
        While it is an important cannabis producer, Morocco does not appear
    on this list since I have determined that its estimated 30,000 hectares
    of illicit cannabis cultivation are consumed mostly in Europe and North
    Africa as hashish and do not significantly affect the United States.
    (Under section 481(e)(2)(C) of the Foreign Assistance Act, as amended by
    the International Narcotics Control Corrections Act of 1994, the term
    ``major illicit drug producing country'' is defined to include countries
    in which 5,000 hectares or more of illicit cannabis is cultivated or
    harvested during a year, unless I determine that such illicit cannabis
    production does not significantly affect the United States.)
        This year the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Taiwan, and Vietnam have
    been added to the list and Belize has been removed for the following
    reasons:
            Dominican Republic and Haiti. These countries share an important
            location astride one of the key transit routes for drugs moving
            from South America to the United States. Over the past few
            years, there has been continuing evidence that Colombian
            traffickers use the Dominican Republic to transship cocaine
            bound for the United States. A number of metric ton cocaine
            seizures in Puerto Rico were delivered in small craft proceeding
            from Dominican ports. In March 1993, the U.S. Coast Guard seized
            756 kilograms of cocaine just south of the Dominican Republic.
            In June 1993, Dominican authorities seized another 784 kilograms
            on the country's northern coast. As of November 29, 1994,
            Dominican authorities had seized 2.6 metric tons of cocaine this
            year. These record seizures represent an increasingly active and
            effective counternarcotics effort on the part of the Dominican
            government in 1994. We look forward to building upon this
            cooperation in the coming year.
            There is strong evidence that much of the cocaine passing
            through the Dominican Republic was originally delivered on the
            Haitian side of the island, where until September a chaotic
            political situation provided an environment for drug
            trafficking. Before the U.S. intervention, Haitian authorities
            reported seizing 716 kilograms of cocaine. Accurate measurement
            of the volume of drugs moving through Haiti, however, was
            difficult because of the minimal cooperation from the military
            regime.
            Since the intervention, measures taken by the Aristide
            government, as well as improved cooperation between the Haitian
            and United States Governments, appear to have drastically
            reduced trafficking through the Haitian part of Hispaniola. We
            expect that the return of democratic government will make it
            harder to move drugs through Haiti, but its geographical
            location will continue to offer a convenient transshipment point
            for U.S.-bound drugs. We plan to work closely with Haitian
            authorities to develop even more effective antidrug programs in
            the months ahead.
            Taiwan. Taiwan has become an important point for the
            transshipment and repackaging of heroin and should be included
            on the list on that basis. The recordbreaking U.S. seizures of
            nearly half a metric ton (486 kilograms) of heroin in 1991 was
            transshipped through Taiwan. Heroin seizures in Taiwan have
            risen from 240 kilograms in 1991 to more than one metric ton
            (1,114 kilograms) in 1993, confirming Taiwan's role as a point
            of major activity in the her-

    [[Page 157]]

    oin trade. Taiwan authorities are aware of the heroin trafficking
    problem they face and have mounted a vigorous drug enforcement campaign
    that is responsible for the recent high volume of seizures.
            Vietnam. We have no official United States Government estimate
            of opium cultivation in Vietnam, but the Government of Vietnam
            and the United Nations Drug Control Program (UNDCP) agree that
            cultivation far exceeds the 1,000-hectare threshold that
            requires inclusion on the list as a drug producing country.
            According to the UNDCP, over 14,000 hectares of opium were
            cultivated in the 1992/93 growing season, 10,000 of which were
            eradicated and 4,000 harvested. A Government of Vietnam source
            stated that 3,770 hectares were cultivated in the 1993/94
            season. Vietnam also has a worsening drug addiction problem and
            a growing role as a transit and trafficking point for Southeast
            Asian heroin.
            Belize. Belize was originally listed as a major cannabis
            producer at a time when the country's marijuana exports were
            having an impact in the United States. Since joint eradication
            efforts have effectively reduced cannabis to negligible amounts.
            Belize has been removed from the list of major drug producing
            countries. We will be watching to determine whether it becomes a
            major transit point for drugs moving to the United States.
        Although Cambodia and Cuba have not been added to the list during
    this cycle, their strategic location along major trafficking routes
    makes them logical prospects for inclusion as major drug transit
    countries. We do not yet have sufficient information to evaluate either
    country's importance in the transit of U.S.-bound drugs. We will be
    observing them closely with the possibility of adding one or both to the
    list in the future if the circumstances warrant.
        In my letter of January 3, 1994, to your predecessors, setting forth
    last year's list of major illicit drug producing and drug transit
    countries, I noted that we were examining the possibly significant
    illicit cultivation of opium poppies in Central Asia and anticipated
    completion of our assessment by 1995. Because of technical and resource
    limitations, we do not yet have useful survey results on opium
    cultivation in Central Asia. We hope to be in a better position to
    assess the situation by late 1995.
            Sincerely,

                                                          William J. Clinton

    Note: Identical letters were sent to Jesse Helms, chairman, Senate
    Committee on Foreign Relations; Mark O. Hatfield, chairman, Senate
    Committee on Appropriations; Benjamin A. Gilman, chairman, House
    Committee on International Relations; and Bob Livingston, chairman,
    House Committee on Appropriations. The related memorandum of February 28
    is listed in Appendix D at the end of this volume.