[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book II)]
[December 4, 1998]
[Pages 2134-2135]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Letter to Congressional Leaders on Major Illicit Drug-Producing and 
Drug-Transit Countries
December 4, 1998

Dear __________:
    In accordance with the provisions of 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, Aruba, The Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Burman, 
Cambodia, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, 
Haiti, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, 
Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Taiwan, Thailand, Venezuela, and Vietnam.
    This year I have removed Iran and Malaysia from the list of major 
drug producing countries and designated them as countries of concern.
    Iran. On the list as a major drug producer since 1987, Iran has been 
a traditional opium producing country, with illicit poppy cultivation 
well beyond the statutory threshold limit of 1,000 hectares. A United 
States Government review in 1993 determined that there were at least 
3,500 hectares of illicit opium poppy under cultivation in the country.
    Over the past few years, the Government of Iran has reported success 
in eradicating illicit opium poppy cultivation. We were unable to test 
these claims until this year, when a United States Government review 
found no evidence of any significant poppy cultivation in the 
traditional growing areas. While we cannot rule out some cultivation in 
remote parts of the country, it is unlikely that there would be enough 
to meet the threshold definition of a major drug producing country.
    Although important quantities of opiates continue to transit Iran en 
route to Europe, the United States Government currently has no evidence 
to support a judgment that significant quantities of these drugs are 
headed to the United States. Therefore, Iran is not a major drug-transit 
country under section 481(e)(5) of the Foreign Assistance Act.
    Malaysia. Although Malaysia's geographic location makes it a 
feasible transit route for heroin to the United States, as had been the 
case in the past, we have no indication that drugs significantly 
affecting the United States have transited the country in the past few 
years.
    I have further determined that the following countries or regions 
are of concern for the purpose of U.S. counternarcotics efforts:
    Netherlands Antilles. Though there is continuing drug activity 
taking place around the Netherlands Antilles, especially in the vicinity 
of St. Maarten, we have only anecdotal information that significant 
quantities of drugs bound for the United States are involved.
    Turkey and Other Balkan Route Countries. I continue to be concerned 
about the large volume of Southwest Asian heroin moving through Turkey 
and neighboring countries (including

[[Page 2135]]

Bulgaria, Greece, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Bosnia, Croatia, 
and the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia) to Western Europe 
along the Balkan Route. There is no clear evidence, however, that this 
heroin significantly affects the United States--as required for a 
country to be designated a major transit country.
    Syria and Lebanon. I removed Syria and Lebanon from the list of 
major drug producers last year after the United States Government 
determined that there was no significant opium poppy cultivation in 
Lebanon's Biqa' Valley. A review again this year confirmed that there is 
still no evidence of significant replanting of opium poppy and no 
evidence that drugs transiting these countries significantly affect the 
United States. The relevant agencies continue, however, to monitor the 
situation.
    Cuba. Cuba's geographical position astride one of the principal 
Caribbean trafficking routes to the United States makes the country a 
logical candidate for consideration for the majors list. Interdiction 
operations elsewhere in the region are driving drug smugglers 
increasingly to fly over Cuba to drop cocaine into Cuban and Bahamian 
waters. This trend makes it important for Cuba to take effective 
measures to stem the flow and to cooperate with others in doing so.
    Major Cannabis Producers. While Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, the 
Philippines, and South Africa are important cannabis producers, they do 
not appear on this list because I have determined, pursuant to section 
481(e)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act, that in all cases the illicit 
cannabis is either consumed locally or exported to countries other than 
the United States, and thus such illicit cannabis production does not 
significantly affect the United States.
    Central Asia. United States Government agencies this year again 
conducted reviews of potential cultivation sites in Tajikistan and 
Uzbekistan, traditional opium poppy growing areas of the former Soviet 
Union. These reviews indicated no evidence of significant opium poppy 
cultivation.
    Finally, I would note that geography makes Central America a logical 
conduit and transshipment area for South American drugs bound for Mexico 
and the United States, and that there has been evidence of increased 
trafficking activity in this region over the past year. Its location 
between Colombia and Mexico, combined with thousands of miles of 
coastline, the availability of a number of container-handling ports in 
Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras, the presence of the Pan-American 
Highway, and limited law enforcement capability, have made the isthmus 
attractive to the drug trade. Hurricane Mitch has disrupted traffic flow 
through the region, but over the longer term resumption or even an 
increase in trafficking activity remains possible.
    Consequently, I am concerned about drug trafficking through Costa 
Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The appropriate agencies 
will continue to compile data on drug flows and their effect on the 
United States in order to determine whether any are major drug-transit 
countries. At the same time, I expressly reiterate my commitment to 
support the efforts of these governments to recover from the ravages of 
Hurricane Mitch, and to ensure that drug traffickers do not take 
advantage of this tragedy to make inroads into the region.
        Sincerely,

                                                      William J. Clinton

Note: Identical letters were sent to Jesse Helms, chairman, and Joseph 
R. Biden, Jr., ranking member, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations; 
Ted Stevens, chairman, and Robert C. Byrd, ranking member, Senate 
Committee on Appropriations; Bob Livingston, chairman, and David R. 
Obey, ranking member, House Committee on Appropriations; and Benjamin A. 
Gilman, chairman, and Lee H. Hamilton, ranking member, House Committee 
on International Relations. This letter was released by the Office of 
the Press Secretary on December 7.