Trump names Afghanistan, India, China, Pakistan among major drug transit countries

President Donald Trump has named China, Afghanistan, India and Pakistan among 23 major drug transit or major illicit drug producing countries, saying that by manufacturing and trafficking illicit drugs and precursor chemicals, these nations are threatening the safety of the US and its citizens.

In a ‘Presidential Determination’ submitted to Congress Monday, Trump said he has identified 23 countries as “major drug transit or major illicit drug producing” nations.

These nations are Afghanistan, The Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Burma, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.

Trump delivered the “Major’s List” to Congress, designating these countries as responsible for sourcing and transporting illicit drugs into the US, the White House said.

The State Department announced the Presidential Determination of these 23 countries, with five countries -- Afghanistan, Bolivia, Burma, Colombia, and Venezuela -- listed as having “failed demonstrably to make substantial efforts,” calling upon them to improve their counter-narcotics efforts.

By manufacturing and trafficking illicit drugs and precursor chemicals, these countries are threatening the safety of the United States and its citizens, the State Department said in a statement.

The State Department clarified that a country’s presence on the list does not necessarily reflect its government’s counterdrug efforts or level of cooperation with the United States.

The listing is based on “the combination of geographic, commercial, and economic factors that allow drugs or precursor chemicals to be transited or produced, even if a government has engaged in robust and diligent narcotics control and law enforcement measures,” it said.

Trump said Afghanistan, Bolivia, Burma, Colombia, and Venezuela have failed “demonstrably” during the previous 12 months to both adhere to their obligations under international counter-narcotics agreements and to take the relevant measures to combat the threat.

On China, Trump said the country’s role as the “world’s largest source” of precursor chemicals fuelling illicit fentanyl production has been well documented.

Trump also said that China is also a major supplier fuelling global epidemics of other synthetic narcotics, including nitazenes and methamphetamine.

The Chinese leadership “can and must take stronger and sustained action to cut down these chemical flows and prosecute the drug criminals facilitating them.”

On Afghanistan, Trump said that despite the Taliban’s announced ban on illegal drugs, drug stockpiles and ongoing production – including expanding production of methamphetamine – have sustained the flow of drugs to international markets.

“Revenue from this drug trade funds transnational criminal groups and supports international terrorists. Some members of the Taliban continue to profit from this trade, and I am once again designating Afghanistan as having failed demonstrably to uphold its drug control obligations given the serious threats to United States interests and international security,” Trump said.

He said that transnational organised crime’s trafficking of fentanyl and other deadly illicit drugs into the US has created a national emergency, including a public health crisis that remains the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 44.