Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 183 / Wednesday, September 23, 2009 / Presidential Documents 48369 

Presidential Determination No. 2009–30 of September 15, 2009 

Presidential Determination on Major Illicit Drug Transit or 

Major Illicit Drug Producing Countries for Fiscal Year 2010 

Memorandum for the Secretary of State 

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 geographic, 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 Bolivia, 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 Bolivia, 

Burma, and Venezuela, as required by section 706(2)(B). 

I have also determined, in accordance with provisions of section 706(3)(A) 

of the FRAA, that support for programs to aid Venezuela’s democratic institutions and continued support for bilateral programs in Bolivia are vital to 

the national interests of the United States. 

Afghanistan continues to be the world’s largest producer of opium poppy 

and a major source of heroin. The Government of Afghanistan, under the 

leadership of President Karzai and key governors in the provinces, has 

demonstrated its ongoing commitment to combating narcotics and has made 

notable improvements in this regard over the past year. 

The connection between opium production, the resulting narcotics trade, 

corruption, and the insurgency continues to grow more evident in Afghanistan. Poppy cultivation remains largely confined to five contiguous provinces 

in the south where security problems greatly impede counternarcotics efforts, 

and nearly all significant poppy cultivation occurs in insecure areas with 

active insurgent elements. Counternarcotics efforts have shown greater impact 

where security exists, where public information messages can be conveyed, 

alternative development delivered, interdiction performed, and justice carried 

out. While the Government of Afghanistan made some progress during the 

past year, the country must dedicate far greater political will and programmatic effort to combat opium trafficking and production nationwide. 

Pakistan is a major transit country for opiates and hashish for markets 

around the world, as well as for precursor chemicals moving into neighboring 

Afghanistan where they are used for processing heroin. Opium poppy cultivation in Pakistan is also a primary concern. 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with PRESDOCO3

48370 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 183 / Wednesday, September 23, 2009 / Presidential Documents 

In 2008 and 2009, religious extremist groups controlled major portions of 

the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, where most of Pakistan’s poppy 

is grown. These extremist groups also pushed into settled areas of the 

country’s Northwest Frontier Province, such as the Peshawar Valley and 

the Swat Valley. The Government of Pakistan was compelled to divert manpower and equipment resources from poppy eradication efforts to contest 

these incursions. 

The joint Narcotics Affairs Section and Pakistan’s Narcotics Control Cell 

indicated that 1,909 hectares of poppy were cultivated in 2008 (approximately 

one percent of the cultivation in Afghanistan). This is down from the 2,315 

hectares cultivated in 2007. In 2007, when the insurgent problem was not 

as widespread, 614 hectares were eradicated, bringing harvested poppy down 

to 1,701 hectares. During 2008, there were significant narcotics and precursor 

chemical seizures in Pakistan. United States counternarcotics and border 

security assistance programs continue to build the counternarcotics capacity 

of law enforcement agencies, especially in Baluchistan and along the Makran 

coast. 

As Mexico and Colombia continue to apply pressure on drug traffickers, 

the countries of Central America are increasingly targeted for trafficking, 

which is creating serious challenges for the region. In 2008, approximately 

42 percent of the cocaine destined for the United States transited Central 

America directly from South America. Often unimpeded due to the region’s 

limited capabilities and resources, traffickers use land routes and Central 

America’s coastal waters for illegal drug movements. The Merida Initiative, 

which provides Central American countries $165 million for FY 2008 and 

FY 2009, offers the opportunity to boost the capabilities of the region’s 

rule of law institutions and promote greater regional law enforcement cooperation. 

Within the Central America region, Guatemala has been listed as a major 

drug transit country since 1990. Guatemala continues to be challenged by 

increasing violence related to narcotics trafficking. Corruption and inadequate 

law enforcement efforts contributed to low interdiction levels during the 

past several years. The United States continues to support the Government 

of Guatemala to improve its counternarcotics efforts. 

In Honduras, drug traffickers have capitalized on the country’s lack of resources, corruption, and ungoverned spaces. Despite the current political 

instability, Honduran security forces have been conducting counternarcotic 

operations and have already seized more illegal drugs than in all of 2008. 

Honduras has also agreed to a bilateral integrated strategy with the United 

States to strengthen the operational counternarcotics capabilities of its security and law enforcement forces. 

Panama is a major drug transit country that seized 51 metric tons of cocaine 

in 2008 while working in partnership with the United States. El Salvador 

is not a primary transit country, but in 2008 the Salvadoran government 

seized 1.4 metric tons of cocaine, 300 kilograms of marijuana, and nine 

kilograms of heroin. El Salvador may see an increase in drug activity corresponding with rising drug trafficking levels in the eastern Pacific. The 

United States is increasingly concerned with the large amount of drugs 

trafficked through Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Interdiction efforts in these 

two countries in 2008 resulted in the seizure of 21.7 and 19.5 metric tons 

of cocaine seizures, respectively. 

The trafficking of South American cocaine through Nigeria and other West 

African countries en route to Europe continues. Though the cocaine does 

not come to the United States, the proceeds of the trafficking flow back 

to the same organizations that move cocaine to the United States, reinforcing 

their financial strength. Drug trafficking is a destabilizing force in the region 

and undermines good governance. Initially focused on Guinea and GuineaBissau, drug trafficking is now a serious issue facing nearly all West African 

countries. There is limited capacity in many West African law enforcement 

and judicial sectors to investigate and prosecute the organizers of cocaine 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with PRESDOCO3

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 183 / Wednesday, September 23, 2009 / Presidential Documents 48371 

trafficking. Despite this, there have been some important counternarcotics 

victories, most notably in the arrest and successful prosecution of traffickers 

in Sierra Leone. 

Nigeria, which remains a significant transit point for narcotics destined 

for the United States, made demonstrable progress in 2008 by combating 

narcotics through increased budgetary support of key counternarcotics and 

corruption agencies, continued evaluation of suspicious transaction reports, 

and acceptable progress in the arrests of drug kingpins, with one kingpin 

arrested in 2008 and another in early 2009. Drug seizures were down slightly 

from a high in 2007. However, this development is likely attributable to 

a decrease in the use of Nigeria’s international airports as a transshipment 

point after the successful deployment of narcotics scanning machines by 

the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). At the same time, 

there was little progress in reform to expedite Nigerian extradition procedures, or to amend its Money Laundering Act to bring it in line with 

international standards. Cooperation between the NDLEA and U.S. law enforcement agencies remains robust. 

International donors and organizations are working to assist West African 

governments in their counternarcotics efforts. The United States supports 

these efforts to preserve and protect stability and positive growth in this 

region. 

The United States continues to maintain a strong and productive law enforcement relationship with Canada. Both countries are making significant efforts 

to disrupt the two-way flow of drugs, bulk currency, and other contraband. 

Canada remains a significant producer of MDMA (ecstasy) and high-potency 

marijuana that is trafficked to the United States. While Canada’s passage 

of several additional regulations in recent years has reduced the large scale 

diversion and smuggling of bulk precursor chemicals across the border, 

the increasing diversion of these chemicals to the production of methamphetamine within Canada could lead to greater methamphetamine availability 

in the United States. The frequent mixing of methamphetamine and other 

illegal drugs into pills that are marketed as MDMA by Canada-based criminal 

groups poses a particularly significant public health risk in the United 

States. The United States Government is appreciative of Canada’s efforts 

to address these and other drug-related challenges, including through bilateral 

initiatives and multilateral forums. 

The Government of India maintains a credible record of regulating its licit 

opium grown for the production of pharmaceutical products through licensed 

opium farmers and monitoring of poppy cultivation sites. Diversion of licit 

opium crops into illegal markets continues despite India’s determined efforts 

to control such activity. Illicit opium poppy production has also been observed in certain areas of the country, such as West Bengal and the State 

of Uttaranchal. Enforcement agencies continue to eradicate illicit opium 

poppy crops although the actual number of hectares destroyed has declined 

in recent years. Indian authorities have made marked efforts to control 

the illicit drug trade as opium and heroin smuggled from Afghanistan and 

Pakistan enters India across the India-Pakistan border and is trafficked to 

destinations outside of India. 

Indian authorities continue to pursue precursor chemical trafficking organizations operating in the country and to cooperate with international law enforcement counterparts to interdict the flow of narcotics. The Government 

of India has made noteworthy international efforts to target the misuse 

of internet pharmacies for trafficking controlled and non-controlled pharmaceuticals. Law enforcement undertakings in this area have resulted in numerous arrests and asset seizures in both the United States and India. 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with PRESDOCO3

48372 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 183 / Wednesday, September 23, 2009 / Presidential Documents 

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. 

THE WHITE HOUSE, 

Washington, September 15, 2009. 

[FR Doc. E9–23100 

Filed 9–22–09; 8:45 am] 

Billing code 4710–10–P 


mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with PRESDOCO3OB#1.EPS</GPH>