Cambodia and Haiti were decertified but were not subjected to sanctions because of national security reasons. Their status remained unchanged from 2000. In the cases of Afghanistan and Myanmar, the question of economic penalties does not apply because they are under U.S. sanctions for other reasons. On the plus side, the report said an aggressive eradication program coupled with drought in the principal drug cultivation areas of Mexico resulted in record low levels of opium poppy production. Mexican President Vincente Fox has been an outspoken critic of the annual U.S. drug certification process.
Certification is more than an affront to Mexico and to other countries.
But Beers disagreed with that view. A White House representative praised Mexico's efforts fighting illicit drug production. Brown also said anti-drug efforts had been strengthened by political events in both Mexico and the United States. Both Bush and Fox are newly elected presidents of their nations. President Bush has given Fox his blessing for Mexico's counterdrug policy.