[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-


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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.