By taking them, the Colombian Government can show the global community that it is committed to ending this era of narco- dominance. The President continued to stress the seriousness of the heroin threat by denying certification to Burma, Afghanistan, Iran, and Syria. In Burma, opium cultivation and heroin trafficking go on without any meaningful constraint by the authorities. Credible reports suggest that he is continuing to run his lucrative drug operations from Rangoon. What is more, drug traffickers have become the leading investors in Burma's new market economy and leading lights in Burma's new political order.
Drug money is so pervasive in the Burmese economy that it taints legitimate investment.
We are very concerned that the Taliban itself may be involved in opium cultivation and drug trafficking. Iran and Syria were denied certification for failing to make any meaningful or effective effort to stop heroin transshipment associated with both countries. Nigerian ethnic gangs remain the world's largest couriers of Asian heroin, and are making inroads in the traffic of South American cocaine. In the U.S., Nigerian groups are responsible for bringing in much of the heroin on our streets. In addition, Nigerian groups have established elaborate money laundering operations and international fraud scams.