[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
[February 22, 1996]
[Pages 316-318]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Letter to Congressional Leaders on Major Narcotics Producing and Transit 
Countries
February 22, 1996

Dear Mr. Chairman:  (Dear Ranking Member:)
    In accordance with the provisions of section 490(h) of the Foreign 
Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA), as amended, I have determined that the 
following countries are major illicit drug producing or drug transit 
countries: Afghanistan, The Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Burma, 
Cambodia, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, 
Haiti, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Jamaica, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, 
Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, 
Venezuela, and Vietnam. These countries have been selected on the basis 
of information from the March 1, 1995, International Narcotics Control 
Strategy Report and from other United States Government sources.
    No countries on the 1995 list have been removed from the list this 
year. I have added Belize and Cambodia to the list for the following 
reasons:
        Belize. In my letter of February 2, 1995, which removed Belize 
        from last year's list of major drug-producing countries, I 
        stated, ``We will be watching to determine whether it becomes a 
        major transit point for drugs moving to the United States.'' I 
        did so because Belize's geographical location south of Mexico's 
        Yucatan peninsula makes it an ideal strategic drug transshipment 
        point for U.S.-bound cocaine shipments. The coun-


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    try's long, unprotected coastline, large tracts of rain forest, many 
        inland waterways and large unpopulated areas make Belize an 
        inviting feeder site for moving drugs into the mainstream 
        Mexican trafficking routes that carry the bulk of South American 
        cocaine to U.S. markets. Despite a demonstrated commitment to 
        cut off access to these routes, the Government of Belize lacks 
        the human and material resources to control its borders 
        adequately. In earlier years, the British Defense Forces 
        stationed in Belize were a partial deterrent to drug traffic, 
        though cocaine transited the country even then. Their withdrawal 
        in late 1994 cleared the way for new trafficking opportunities.
        There is little doubt that traffickers are exploiting Belize's 
        vulnerable antidrug infrastructure, particularly as other 
        countries have strengthened their counternarcotics efforts. The 
        very factors that make Belize attractive as a backdoor to the 
        Mexican cocaine route to the United States preclude a precise 
        estimate of the volume of drugs transiting Belize. But it is 
        clear from a number of airdrops off Belize's coast and important 
        seizures that the trafficking organizations view it as a 
        valuable transit point. Mexico's disruption of the large jets 
        carrying multi-ton loads of cocaine (``cargas'') has made Belize 
        even more attractive as a feed-in point for U.S.-bound cocaine.
        While shipments transiting Belize are smaller than those 
        entering Mexico directly, they can still be sizable. For 
        example, in a single operation in 1995, Belizean authorities 
        seized more than half a ton (636 kilograms) of U.S.-bound 
        cocaine and arrested two Colombians and a Belizean believed to 
        be connected to the Cali cartel. In all of 1995, Belizean 
        authorities seized a total of 840 kilograms of cocaine, which 
        probably represents only a small fraction of the cocaine 
        actually finding its way to the Mexican conduit to the United 
        States. Moreover, this route is not new, since Belizean 
        authorities reported seizing 850 kilograms of cocaine in 1993, 
        and 650 kilograms in 1990. Consequently, I am now adding Belize 
        to the list as a major drug transit country.
        Cambodia. Over the past year we have seen numerous indicators 
        that the heroin trafficking problem in Cambodia is severe. Newly 
        formed and undertrained drug enforcement units have made large 
        seizures of heroin. Cambodian police and customs sources have 
        uncovered narcotics cases that involve the Cambodian military 
        and police. Narcotics-related corruption also seems to be a 
        problem in government and business circles. Cambodia shares 
        borders with Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam--all countries on the 
        list of major drug producing and drug transit countries.
        The Cambodian government formally acknowledged that drug 
        transshipment was a significant problem in a royal decree 
        establishing an interministerial committee against narcotics 
        signed by the King on September 7. The head of the Phnom Penh 
        Municipal Counternarcotics Bureau has stated to the press that 
        as much as 600 kilograms of heroin is smuggled through Cambodia 
        each week. While we have no evidence to corroborate this figure, 
        which seems high, seizures in Cambodia give us reason to believe 
        there is a significant volume of heroin transiting the country. 
        On August 11, the Cambodian Customs Service seized 71 kilograms 
        of heroin hidden in a speedboat in Koh Kong province. This is 
        the largest seizure ever made in Cambodia and one of the largest 
        made in Southeast Asia this year. Two west African traffickers 
        apprehended by the Cambodian authorities in July have admitted 
        smuggling heroin to the United States and other destinations.
        The extent of narcotics-related corruption suggests that the 
        overall drug transshipment problem in Cambodia may be even 
        greater than recent seizures suggest. There have been 
        investigations and arrests involving both police and military 
        suspects. Local police were arrested in the 71-kilogram heroin 
        seizure in Koh Kong province. In August, Thai police arrested 
        several Cambodians including members of the Cambodian military 
        for attempting marijuana smuggling. For all the reasons listed 
        above, I believe it is appropriate for Cambodia to be added to 
        the list as a transit country.
        Major Cannabis Producers. While Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, 
        the Philippines, and South Africa are important cannabis 
        producers, they do not appear on this list since I have 
        determined that in all cases the illicit cannabis is either 
        consumed locally or exported to countries

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        other than the United States, and thus such illicit cannabis 
        production does not significantly affect the United States. (FAA 
        481(e)(2) states that a country that cultivates and harvests 
        more than 5,000 hectares per year of illicit cannabis falls 
        within the definition of a ``major illicit drug producing 
        country,'' unless I determine that such illicit cannabis 
        production does not significantly affect the United States.)
        Turkey and Other Balkan Route Countries. Turkey and its 
        neighboring countries play a key role as a major transit route 
        for much of the Southwest Asian heroin moving to Western and 
        Central Europe along the so-called Balkan Route. We know that 
        some of this heroin also flows to the United States, but thus 
        far our information has been limited and we have traced only 
        relatively small quantities. We will be looking further into 
        this issue over the next year. Insofar as we determine that 
        heroin transiting Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece, the Former Republic 
        of Yugoslavia, Bosnia, Croatia, the Former Yugoslavian Republic 
        of Macedonia, or other European countries on the Balkan Route 
        significantly affects the United States, I will add such 
        countries to the list.
        Cuba. We still do not have sufficient evidence that Cuba plays 
        an active role in the drug trade affecting the United States to 
        add it to the list at this time. However, Cuba's geographic 
        location and evidence of some movement of drugs around the 
        island indicate it could become a target for greater trafficking 
        activity in the future.
        Central Asia. During 1995, we conducted probe efforts in 
        Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, traditional opium poppy growing areas 
        of the former Soviet Union. These probes did not show 
        significant opium poppy cultivation. If ongoing analysis reveals 
        cultivation of 1,000 hectares or more of poppy, I will add the 
        relevant countries to the list.
        Sincerely,

                                                      William J. Clinton

Note: Identical letters were sent to Jesse Helms, chairman, and 
Claiborne Pell, ranking member, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations; 
Mark O. Hatfield, chairman, and Robert C. Byrd, ranking member, Senate 
Committee on Appropriations; Benjamin A. Gilman, chairman, and Lee H. 
Hamilton, ranking member, House Committee on International Relations; 
and Bob Livingston, chairman, and David R. Obey, ranking member, House 
Committee on Appropriations. This letter was released by the Office of 
the Press Secretary on February 23.