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

February 05, 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to the one submitted by the Secretary of State on October 1, 1992, pursuant to the provisions of section 481(k)(3) (now repealed) of the FAA and using the definition of a major illicit drug producing country and a major drug transit country given in sections 481(i) (2) and (5) of the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 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. The related Presidential determination of March 31 is listed in Appendix D at the end of this volume.

William J. Clinton, Letter to Congressional Leaders on Certification of Major Narcotics Producing and Transit Countries Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/219644

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