[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000-2001, Book III)]
[November 1, 2000]
[Pages 2410-2413]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Letter to Congressional Leaders on Certification of Major Illicit Drug 
Producing and Transit Countries
November 1, 2000

Dear __________:
    In accordance with the provisions of section 490(h) of the Foreign 
Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (the ``Foreign Assistance Act''), I 
have determined that the following are major illicit drug producing or 
major drug-transit countries: Afghanistan, The Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, 
Burma, Cambodia, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, 
Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, 
Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Thailand, Venezuela, and Vietnam. This year I 
have removed Hong Kong

[[Page 2411]]

and Taiwan from the list of major illicit drug producing or major drug-
transit countries (the ``Majors List'').
    The Majors List, as required by section 490(h) of the Foreign 
Assistance Act, applies to ``countries.'' The term ``countries'' is 
interpreted broadly to include certain entities that exercise autonomy 
over actions or omissions that would lead to a decision to place them on 
the list and subsequently to determine eligibility or certification. 
Therefore, in the past, the Majors List has included certain entities 
that are not sovereign states.
    I wish to make clear that a country's presence on the list of major 
drug-transit countries is not necessarily an adverse reflection on its 
counterdrug efforts or on the level of its cooperation with the United 
States. Among the reasons that major drug-transit countries are placed 
on the list is the combination of geographical, commercial, and economic 
factors that allow drugs to transit through a country, in many cases 
despite the most assiduous enforcement measures.
    I also wish to note my concern over the rising imports of foreign-
origin, illegal synthetic drugs into the United States, especially MDMA 
(``Ecstasy'') from Europe. We are still collecting information on this 
problem, and it is a trend that bears watching closely in future years.

Changes to the List

    Removal of Hong Kong. Hong Kong has been considered a major drug-
transit country since 1987, when the first Majors List was prepared. Its 
proximity to the Golden Triangle opium cultivation countries of 
Thailand, Laos, and Burma, along with its highly developed air and sea 
transport infrastructure, made it a logical transit point for 
trafficking organizations moving Southeast Asian heroin to the United 
States and other countries in the Western Hemisphere.
    Over the past few years, however, Hong Kong's role as a transit 
point for U.S.-bound drugs has declined markedly, due to several 
factors. Stringent enforcement measures and extradition agreements with 
various countries, including the United States, and the risk of having 
narcotics shipments seized, have become effective deterrents to shipping 
drugs through Hong Kong. At the same time, drug flows from China through 
Hong Kong have diminished significantly. As China continues to develop 
its coastal cargo-handling facilities and expands port operations in the 
south, there is less incentive for drug traffickers to re-export and 
transship cargo through Hong Kong.
    Seizure rates in both the United States and Hong Kong suggest that 
trafficking organizations are no longer using Hong Kong as a transit 
point for U.S.-destined heroin. Since 1996, there have been no 
significant seizures in the United States of heroin linked with Hong 
Kong. Similarly, the Hong Kong authorities report that in the past two 
years they have made no large seizures locally of heroin destined for 
the United States. Consequently, I am removing Hong Kong from the Majors 
List and downgrading it to a country of concern. If in the future there 
is evidence of drug flows through Hong Kong that significantly affect 
the United States, Hong Kong will again be placed on the Majors List.
    Removal of Taiwan. In the early 1990s, Taiwan became a transit point 
for Asian drug trafficking organizations moving heroin to the Western 
Hemisphere. The largest U.S. heroin seizure on record is the nearly 
half-ton of heroin that U.S. authorities discovered in Hayward, 
California in 1991. The drugs, which originated in China, had transited 
Taiwan en route to the United States. Given Taiwan's role in that 
transshipment and evidence of Taiwan-related drug flows to the United 
States at that time, I added Taiwan to the Majors List in 1995.
    Taiwan's role as transit point for drugs destined for the United 
States, however, has changed radically in the past few years. More 
stringent law enforcement procedures, together with improved customs 
inspection and surveillance methods, have all but cut off serious flows 
of heroin from Taiwan to the United States. At the same time, the 
opening of major container ports in southern China has diminished 
Taiwan's importance for the drug trade.
    Since Taiwan was designated a major drug-transit country, there have 
been no seizures in the United States of heroin that transited Taiwan, 
nor have Taiwan authorities identified any important drug shipments 
destined for the United States. Therefore, I am removing Taiwan from the 
Majors List and downgrading it to a country of concern. If in the future 
we detect any drug flows through Taiwan that significantly affect the 
United States, Taiwan will again be placed on the Majors List.

[[Page 2412]]

Countries/Entities and Regions of Concern

    In addition to Hong Kong and Taiwan, the following are countries or 
regions of concern:
    Belize. Belize was removed from the list of major drug-transit 
countries in 1999 because there was clear evidence that the drug trade 
was not currently using it as a transit point for drugs moving to the 
United States. If, at a future date, there is reliable information that 
U.S.-bound drugs are again moving through Belize in significant 
quantities, it will again be placed on the Majors List.
    Central America. Central America's position as a land bridge between 
South America and Mexico, together with its thousands of miles of 
coastline, several container-handling ports, the Pan-American Highway, 
and limited law enforcement capability make the entire region a natural 
conduit and transshipment area for illicit drugs bound for Mexico and 
the United States. Currently, only Guatemala and Panama have been 
designated major drug-transit countries, since there is clear evidence 
that drug trafficking organizations use their territory to move 
significant quantities of illegal drugs to the United States. The same 
is not yet true of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, or Nicaragua.
    Although there is no question that varying quantities of drugs do 
flow through these countries en route to the United States, the bulk of 
the traffic has shifted away from land routes. Stringent law enforcement 
and interdiction measures on land have forced trafficking organizations 
to move drugs along sea routes. In the event that there is evidence that 
drugs transiting these countries are having a significant effect on the 
United States, they will be added to the Majors List.
    Iran. While Iran was once a traditional opium-producing country, the 
Government of Iran appears to have been successful in eradicating 
significant illicit opium poppy cultivation. The latest U.S. survey of 
the country revealed no detectable poppy cultivation in the traditional 
growing areas. Although one cannot rule out some cultivation in remote 
parts of the country, it is unlikely that it would be sufficient to meet 
the threshold definition of a major illicit drug producing country under 
section 481(e)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act.
    Important quantities of opiates reportedly continue to transit Iran 
en route to Europe, but I have no evidence that these drugs 
significantly affect the United States, a requirement for designation as 
a major drug-transit country under section 481(e)(5) of the Foreign 
Assistance Act. Moreover, Iran has taken extensive measures to thwart 
the use of its territory by drug traffickers, seizing well above 200 
metric tons of drugs annually in recent years.
    Malaysia. Malaysia was removed from the Majors List two years ago 
because there was no evidence that drugs transiting the country were 
reaching the United States in significant quantities. That situation has 
not changed since that time.
    Eastern Caribbean. The Leeward and Windward Islands, together with 
Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles, constitute a broad geographical area 
through which U.S.-bound drugs pass en route from Latin America. In the 
right circumstances, any country in the region could become a major 
drug-transit country. There is no evidence at this time, however, that 
any of these Eastern Caribbean nations is a major drug-transit country 
under the definition in section 481(e)(5) of the Foreign Assistance Act. 
The information available, however, indicates that drugs moving through 
the area are overwhelmingly destined for Europe. We are, therefore, 
keeping the region under observation. Relevant countries will be added 
to the Majors List, should conditions warrant.
    Turkey and Other Balkan Route Countries. I am concerned by the large 
volume of Southwest Asian heroin that moves through Turkey and 
neighboring countries 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 drug-
transit country. In the event that it is determined that heroin 
transiting Turkey, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Yugoslavia, Bosnia-
Herzegovina, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, or 
other European countries on the Balkan Route significantly affects the 
United States, the relevant countries will be added to the Majors List.
    Syria and Lebanon. I removed Syria and Lebanon from the list of 
major illicit drug producers two years ago after we determined that 
there was no significant opium poppy cultivation in

[[Page 2413]]

Lebanon's Biqa Valley. Recent surveys have confirmed that there has been 
no detectable replanting of opium poppy, and we have no evidence that 
drugs transiting these countries significantly affect the United States. 
We continue, however, to keep the area under observation.
    North Korea. We have been unable to confirm reports that significant 
quantities of opium poppy may be under cultivation in North Korea or 
that heroin originating in the country may be entering the international 
drug trade. We continue, however, to monitor the situation. If there is 
evidence that there is indeed poppy cultivation of 1,000 hectares or 
more in North Korea or that North Korea is a transit point for drugs 
significantly affecting the United States, it will be added to the 
Majors List.
    Cuba. Cuba's geographical position, straddling one of the principal 
Caribbean trafficking routes to the United States, makes it a logical 
candidate for consideration for the Majors List. While there have been 
some reports that trafficking syndicates use Cuban land territory for 
moving drugs, we have yet to receive any confirmation that this traffic 
carries significant quantities of cocaine or heroin to the United 
States. Moreover, in 2000, much of the suspect air traffic that 
previously crossed Cuban airspace has now shifted away to Hispaniola 
(Haiti and the Dominican Republic).
    I will continue to keep Cuba under careful observation for any 
changes in current transit patterns. If there is evidence of significant 
quantities of drugs transiting Cuba to the United States, Cuba will be 
added Cuba to the Majors List.
    Central Asia. Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are traditional opium poppy 
growing areas of the former Soviet Union. However, we have not found 
evidence of significant opium poppy cultivation. If ongoing analysis 
reveals cultivation of 1,000 hectares or more of poppy, the relevant 
countries will be added to the Majors List.
    Major Cannabis Producers. While Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, the 
Philippines, and South Africa are important cannabis producers, I have 
not included them on this list since in all cases the illicit cannabis 
is either consumed locally or exported to countries other than the 
United States. I have determined that such illicit cannabis production 
does not significantly affect the United States.
         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; Benjamin A. Gilman, chairman, and Sam 
Gejdenson, ranking member, House Committee on International Relations; 
and C.W. Bill Young, chairman, and David R. Obey, ranking member, House 
Committee on Appropriations.