[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 5 (Monday, February 8, 1993)]
[Pages 153-154]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Letter to Congressional Leaders on Certification of Major Narcotics 
Producing and Transit Countries

 February 5, 1993

Dear Mr. Chairman:

    In accordance with section 490(h) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 
1961, as amended (FAA), I am submitting a list of countries which, as of 
January 1, 1993, have been determined to be major illicit drug producing 
and drug transit countries. These countries have been selected on the 
basis of information from the March 1, 1992, International Narcotics 
Control Strategy Report (INCSR) and from other U.S. Government sources. 
The list of countries is identical to the one submitted by the Secretary 
of State on October 1, 1992, pursuant to the provisions of section 
481(k)(3) (now repealed) of the FAA and using the definition of a major 
illicit drug producing country and a major drug transit country given in 
sections 481(i) (2) and (5) of the same law.
    The International Narcotics Control Act of 1992 (INCA) amended the 
FAA on November 2, 1992, by changing the reporting date to January 1, 
1993, and by suspending the sections 481(i) (2) and (5) definitions for 
fiscal years 1993 and 1994. In fiscal year 1995 the section 481(i) 
definitions will again apply. Since

[[Page 154]]

the section 481(i) definitions, however, have provided a generally sound 
and consistent basis for classifying major drug producing and transit 
countries, we will continue to use them with some practical adjustments 
to take into account more accurate measurement techniques and the effect 
on the illicit U.S. drug market. We will not add or remove countries to 
or from the major drug producers list until we have our own confirmation 
that conditions in the country so warrant.
    We expect to revise the list during 1993 based on information in the 
next International Narcotics Control Strategy Report and survey 
information. At this time, there are reports that there may be 
significant illicit cultivation of opium poppies in Vietnam and in the 
former Soviet Central Asian republics. When we complete the relevant 
surveys of these countries, we will decide whether the data justify 
their inclusion on the list.
    The following countries are subject to certification on narcotics 
cooperation: The Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, 
Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela, 
Afghanistan, India, Iran, Lebanon, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Syria, 
Burma, China, Hong Kong, Laos, Malaysia, and Thailand.
    Sincerely,
                                                  Bill Clinton

Note: Identical letters were sent to William H. Natcher, chairman, House 
Committee on Appropriations; Robert C. Byrd, chairman, Senate Committee 
on Appropriations; Claiborne Pell, chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign 
Relations; and Lee H. Hamilton, chairman, House Committee on Foreign 
Affairs.