[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 38 (Monday, September 24, 2007)]
[Pages 1216-1218]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Presidential Determination on Major Drug Transit or Major Illicit Drug 
Producing Countries for Fiscal Year 2008

September 14, 2007

 Presidential Determination No. 2007-33

Memorandum for the Secretary of State

Subject: Presidential Determination on Major Drug Transit or Major 
Illicit Drug Producing Countries for Fiscal Year 2008

    Pursuant to section 706(1) of the Foreign Relations Authorization 
Act, Fiscal Year 2003 (Public Law 107-228)(FRAA), I hereby identify the 
following countries as major drug transit or major illicit drug 
producing countries: Afghanistan, The Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Burma, 
Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, 
Laos, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela.
    A country's presence on the Majors List is not necessarily an 
adverse reflection of its government's counternarcotics efforts or level 
of cooperation with the United States. Consistent with the statutory 
definition of a major drug transit or drug producing country set forth 
in section 481(e)(2) and (5) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as 
amended (FAA), one of the reasons that major drug transit or illicit 
drug producing countries are placed on the list is the combination of 
geographical, commercial, and economic factors that allow drugs to 
transit or be produced despite the concerned government's most assiduous 
enforcement measures.
    Pursuant to section 706(2)(A) of the FRAA, I hereby designate Burma 
and Venezuela as countries that have failed demonstrably during the 
previous 12 months to adhere to their obligations under international 
counternarcotics agreements and take the measures set forth in section 
489(a)(1) of the FAA. Attached to this report are justifications for the 
determinations on Burma and Venezuela, as required by section 706(2)(B). 
I have also determined, in accordance with the provisions of section 
706(3)(A) of the FRAA, that support for programs to aid Venezuela's 
democratic institutions is vital to the national interests of the United 
States.
    Although President Karzai has strongly attacked narcotrafficking as 
the greatest threat to Afghanistan, one third of the Afghan economy 
remains opium-based, which contributes to widespread public corruption, 
damage to licit economic growth, and the strengthening of the 
insurgency. The government at all levels must be held accountable to 
deter and eradicate poppy cultivation, remove and prosecute corrupt 
officials, and investigate and prosecute or extradite narcotraffickers 
and those financing their activities. We are concerned that failure to 
act decisively now could undermine security, compromise democratic 
legitimacy, and imperil international support for vital assistance.
    In Afghanistan, one model for success can be drawn by comparing the 
marked differences in cultivation between the northern and southern 
provinces. Several northern provinces contributed to a decline in poppy 
cultivation resulting from a mixture of political will and incentives 
and disincentives, such as public information, alternative development, 
and eradication. Furthermore, several northern provinces with very low

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amounts of poppy are well on their way to becoming poppy free.
    Despite the significant progress made in Afghanistan since 2001, the 
country continues to face tremendous challenges. Our struggle to win 
hearts and minds, while confronting the insurgency, continues to 
directly hinge on our ability to help the Afghan government produce 
visible results. We need to encourage a firm belief among the Afghan 
people that their national government is capable of delivering an 
alternative to the preceding decades of conflict. Our reconstruction 
assistance is an essential instrument to achieve that goal.
    Bolivian counternarcotics cooperation has been uneven. The Bolivian 
government has cooperated closely on interdiction, and operations and 
seizures have reached record levels. The government is on track to reach 
5,600 hectares of eradication this year, surpassing its goal of 5,000 
hectares.
    However, these measures have been outstripped by replanting and 
expansion of cultivation in Bolivia, the world's third-largest producer 
of coca. The Government of Bolivia's policy of ``zero cocaine, but not 
zero coca'' has focused primarily on interdiction, to the exclusion of 
its other essential complements, especially coca crop eradication. We 
strongly encourage the Government of Bolivia to make its number one 
priority the reduction and eventual elimination of excess coca crops, a 
major source of illegal cocaine for the hemisphere, Europe, the United 
States, and increasingly, for Bolivian citizens. In the area of drug 
control policy development, we urge the Government of Bolivia to revamp 
its national drug control strategy to eliminate permissiveness in licit 
cultivation, to abolish the so-called ``cato'' exemption, and to tighten 
controls on the sale of licit coca. As a party to the three major United 
Nations drug conventions, we urge Bolivia to move quickly to adopt and 
implement a modern anti-money/counterterrorism financing law, and take 
concrete steps to strengthen and better enforce precursor chemical 
controls and its asset forfeiture regime.
    The United States enjoys close cooperation with Canada across a 
broad range of law enforcement issues. We remain concerned that the 
production of high-potency, indoor-grown marijuana for export to the 
United States continues to thrive in Canada in part because growers do 
not consistently face strict legal punishment. The marijuana industry in 
Canada is becoming increasingly sophisticated, with organized crime 
groups relying on marijuana sales as the primary source of income and 
using profits to finance other illegal activities. The production of 
synthetic drugs such as MDMA/Ecstasy and methamphetamine, some of which 
are exported to the United States, appears to be on the rise in Canada. 
The Government of Canada has made a serious effort to curb the diversion 
of precursor chemicals that are required for methamphetamine production 
to feed domestic and U.S. illegal markets and has worked productively 
with the United States in joint law enforcement operations that 
disrupted drug and currency smuggling operations along both sides of the 
border.
    The Government of Ecuador has made considerable progress in 
combating narcotics trafficking destined for the United States. However, 
a dramatic increase in the quantity of cocaine transported toward the 
United States using Ecuadorian-flagged ships remains an area of serious 
concern. Effective cooperation and streamlined maritime operational 
procedures between the U.S. Coast Guard and Ecuadorian Navy are 
resulting in an increase in the amount of cocaine interdicted. Building 
on that cooperation, we will work with Ecuador to change the 
circumstances that make Ecuadorian-flagged vessels and Ecuadorian 
citizenship so attractive to drug traffickers.
    Guinea-Bissau is becoming a warehouse refuge and transit hub for 
cocaine traffickers from Latin America transporting cocaine to Western 
Europe. Narcotics traffic is becoming yet another hurdle for Guinea-
Bissau as it emerges from civil conflict. International donors and 
organizations are working to encourage and assist Guinea-Bissau in its 
efforts to confront organized cocaine trafficking networks that would 
use the country for warehousing and transshipment. These efforts are 
certainly appropriate and should be supported and advanced to deter 
illegal drug activities in Guinea-Bissau.

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    India has an exemplary record on controlling its licit opium 
production and distribution process, despite formidable challenges to 
its efforts. The Government of India can be correctly proud of its 
diligent law enforcement agencies and the introduction of high-tech 
methods, including ``Smart Cards'' for each licensed opium farmer. 
Recently, Indian enforcement officials identified and destroyed 
substantial illicit opium poppy cultivation in areas thought to be free 
of illicit cultivation in the past. Indian officials will want to 
investigate the circumstances of this surprisingly large illicit 
cultivation to identify those behind this disquieting phenomenon and 
arrest, prosecute, and convict them.
    Nigeria has made progress on many narcotics control and anti-money 
laundering benchmarks. There is reason to be hopeful. The Economic and 
Financial Crimes Commission has seized millions in the proceeds of 
crime, anti-money laundering efforts have been successful, and Nigeria 
is cooperating with the international community to improve its efforts 
against money laundering even more. Still necessary are procedural 
reforms to streamline extradition procedures. For many narcotics 
criminals no sanction is more effective than the fear they could face a 
court and jail time in the countries to which they have trafficked 
narcotics. Nigeria should also re-double its efforts to use its frequent 
apprehension of street criminals and couriers to identify and prosecute 
major drug traffickers.
    You are hereby authorized and directed to submit this report under 
section 706 of the FRAA, transmit it to the Congress, and publish it in 
the Federal Register.
                                                George W. Bush

Note: This memorandum was released by the Office of the Press Secretary 
on September 17.