81 FR 64749 - Presidential Determination on Major Drug Transit or Major Illicit Drug Producing Countries for Fiscal Year 2017
Executive Office of the President
Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 182 (September 20, 2016)
Page Range
64749-64753
FR Document
2016-22823
Federal Register, Volume 81 Issue 182 (Tuesday, September 20, 2016)
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 182 (Tuesday, September 20, 2016)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 64749-64753]
From the Federal Register Online [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-22823]
[[Page 64747]]
Vol. 81
Tuesday,
No. 182
September 20, 2016
Part VII
The President
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Presidential Determination No. 2016-10 of September 12, 2016--
Presidential Determination on Major Drug Transit or Major Illicit Drug
Producing Countries for Fiscal Year 2017
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 81 , No. 182 / Tuesday, September 20, 2016 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 64749]]
Presidential Determination No. 2016-10 of September 12,
2016
Presidential Determination on Major Drug Transit
or Major Illicit Drug Producing Countries for Fiscal
Year 2017
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 and/or major illicit drug
producing countries: Afghanistan, The Bahamas, Belize,
Bolivia, Burma, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican
Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti,
Honduras, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua,
Pakistan, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.
A country's presence on the foregoing Major Drug
Transit and Major Illicit Drug Producing Countries List
is not a 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), the
reason 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, even if a government
has carried out the most assiduous narcotics control
law 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.
Included in this report are justifications for the
determinations on Bolivia, Burma, and Venezuela, as
required by section 706(2)(B). Explanations for these
decisions are published with this determination.
I have also determined, in accordance with provisions
of section 706(3)(A) of the FRAA, that support for
programs to aid Burma and Venezuela is vital to the
national interests of the United States.
In addition to emphasizing the importance of
international cooperation, this determination
highlights a number of recent developments concerning
various aspects associated with the worldwide drug
problem.
Growing Consensus on International Narcotics
There is a growing international consensus that
counternarcotics programs must be designed and
implemented with the aim of improving the health and
safety of individuals while preventing and reducing
violence and other harmful consequences to communities.
In concert with international partners, the United
States is expanding its domestic and international
funding for drug treatment and recovery support
programs based on empirical scientific evidence that
shows that substance use disorders are medical
conditions and must be treated as such. To achieve
greater balance, U.S. drug policy also includes
stepped-up promotion of effective alternative
development programs for farmers and others who agree
to stop illegal drug cultivation and associated
activities. Such efforts also focus on advancing the
rule of law through improving and strengthening civil
and law enforcement institutions. United States polices
support overall
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citizen security, including deepening worldwide
adherence to fundamental human rights guaranteed by
international law.
This consensus was demonstrated at the United Nations
General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug
Problem (UNGASS) held on April 19-21, 2016, in New
York. The meeting served as the first high-level,
global gathering on counternarcotics in a generation,
and its resulting outcome document forged international
consensus behind a balanced and pragmatic approach to
drug control. A central theme of UNGASS was to further
develop and implement strategies based on the UN
Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) 2009 Political
Declaration and Action Plan aimed at reducing drug
production, trafficking, and use from the standpoint of
effective public health practices. UNGASS participants,
including the United States, also highlighted the
importance of substantive advancement of the UN's 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development, which for the first
time in history incorporates rule of law objectives
into global development policy.
UNGASS further underscored the broad consensus among
United Nations member states with regard to many major
drug control themes. At the special session, member
states demonstrated their common cause to reinforce
efforts to counter drug cultivation, production,
distribution, and use through pragmatic approaches that
balance both law enforcement and public health
perspectives. As stated by the UN International
Narcotics Control Board (INCB), we have a ``common
obligation to employ effective drug abuse prevention,
treatment, and rehabilitation of our citizens.''
Participants also reaffirmed their ongoing commitment
to the 1961, 1971, and 1988 UN conventions on drugs as
the essential backdrop for worldwide drug control
efforts. These conventions leave sufficient room for
individual states to pursue drug policies that are in
accord with their own laws and national realities.
The foreign policy approaches to drug control of the
United States are explained in detail in the U.S.
National Drug Control Strategy, and our policies and
programs are designed to help reach the goals
established at UNGASS and work effectively with
partners around the world. They include, for example,
on going bilateral cooperation and collaborative work
through numerous regional and sub-regional multilateral
organizations such as the Organization of American
States; the European Union; regional affiliates of the
global Financial Action Task Force; the Economic
Community of West African States; the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations; and many others. The United
States also joins other nations in supporting the
important, positive contributions of many
nongovernmental organizations in the academic and
private sectors that work on improving counternarcotics
policies and programs.
Growing Challenges of Heroin Use, Adulterants, and
Opium Poppy Cultivation
According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC),
the use of heroin and other opium poppy derivatives is
the greatest worldwide drug problem today. Heroin is
also the greatest drug threat in the United States,
according to the 2015 U.S. National Drug Threat
Assessment published by the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration. Especially dangerous is the increasing
adulteration of heroin with synthetic opioids, such as
fentanyl, leading to an increase in the number of
deaths as the result of drug overdoses. In 2014, the
Centers for Disease Control reported that approximately
10,500 Americans died from heroin-related overdoses;
the true number likely is higher given inconsistent
testing across the States.
Opium poppy cultivation is expanding beyond
Afghanistan, Burma, and Laos the traditional primary
producing countries in the world. While Afghanistan is
still the major supplier of opium derivatives to Europe
and Canada, nearly all opium derivatives found in the
United States are primarily grown in or trafficked
through Mexico or by Mexican-based drug trafficking
organizations. In Mexico, for example, international
officials estimate that the number of hectares of
heroin poppy under cultivation increased from 11,000
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hectares in 2013 to as much as 28,000 hectares in 2015.
Limited poppy cultivation also has been detected in
Colombia and Guatemala.
According to UNODC, 201,000 hectares of opium poppy
were cultivated in Afghanistan in 2015, a 5 percent
decline from 2014. Comparative data shows, however,
that while cultivation and yields declined relative to
previous years, cultivation is still at historically
high levels.
The 2016 U.S. International Narcotics Control Strategy
indicates that insurgent groups in Afghanistan generate
significant revenue by taxing drugs passing through
regions they control. Afghan government drug control
efforts are hampered by broad security challenges
associated with intensive, long-term conflict and
combat. The U.S. Government continues to support a
broad range of multilateral and bilateral drug control
programs in Afghanistan.
Although many treatment and recovery facilities
established in Afghanistan show great promise, the 2015
Afghanistan National Drug Use Survey conducted by the
Department of State and the Afghan Ministry of Health
Institutional Review Board found an 11 percent drug
positive rate in Afghanistan. Use of heroin and other
opium poppy products, according to international
analysis, is also significant in Iran, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. The INCB is also concerned
about the increasing use of Afghan sourced heroin
throughout the Middle East.
Heroin in the United States is being increasingly
adulterated with low-cost synthetic opioids, especially
fentanyl. Research has shown that fentanyl and its
analogues can be 25 to 50 times more potent than
heroin. According to U.S. law enforcement, most illicit
fentanyl, precursors, and fentanyl analogues that have
been identified in the United States originate in China
and enter the country via Mexico, Canada, or direct
mail. The United States has taken a number of steps to
address this issue. The United States is working with
Mexico and Canada to develop bilateral and multilateral
approaches to combating opioid production and
trafficking, particularly heroin and fentanyl. Law
enforcement cooperation with Mexico includes programs
to strengthen Mexico's capacity to identify,
investigate, interdict and dismantle clandestine drug
laboratories and disrupt trafficking networks. The
United States conducts regular and positive discussions
with China to enhance controls on many chemicals used
to make fentanyl and other synthetic drugs. In a
welcome development in late 2015, China placed controls
on 116 substances including a dangerous analogue to
fentanyl, acetyl fentanyl. Much work remains to be done
in this area, and developing compatible, consistent,
enforceable international standards is crucial to
successfully controlling this growing drug threat.
Cocaine and Coca Cultivation
Although international and U.S. surveys indicate
overall production of coca leaf for cocaine has
remained stable from a decade ago, Colombia has seen a
42 percent increase in illegal coca crop cultivation
from 2014 to 2015. Colombia remains the major provider
of cocaine available in the United States, though data
shows that cocaine use is declining in the United
States and in Europe. Nevertheless, U.S. rates of
overdose involving cocaine were up in 2014.
Increased Colombian coca cultivation can be attributed
to a number of factors, including Colombia's decision
to end the aerial coca eradication program in October
2015 throughout the country. Even prior to the end of
spray eradication, coca growers began to implement
``counter'' eradication techniques, such as by
migrating their plantings to areas where spray was not
permitted by law or policy. Illegal coca cultivators
also began to cultivate smaller, better concealed
fields to avoid detection by law enforcement. Colombia
has reformulated its counternarcotics strategy to
prioritize robust law enforcement activity against
criminal drug trafficking organizations, including
enhanced interdiction, over that of crop eradication.
In 2015, the country seized 295 metric tons of cocaine
along with other illegal drugs.
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To reach the United States, cocaine is primarily
trafficked by land, air, and sea via Central America,
Mexico, and the Caribbean. Over the past decade,
roughly 97 percent of U.S. bound cocaine is smuggled
out of South America on noncommercial maritime
conveyances. Smaller amounts are smuggled via
commercial maritime vessels and noncommercial aircraft.
Using similar conveyances, cocaine destined for Europe
is often routed through Brazil, Bolivia, and Venezuela,
as well as via West Africa.
Numerous large shipping containers have been
interdicted on Atlantic routes, sometimes with a first
stop in Portuguese speaking countries in Africa. Using
these routes reduces language barriers before the drugs
are smuggled to their final destination. A variety of
U.S. assistance programs, especially those designed to
enhance national interdiction capabilities and target
kingpin traffickers, are carried out in Africa.
United States assistance programs are designed to
disrupt the flow of cocaine and other harmful products
to the United States by building the capacity of
judicial, law enforcement, and treatment institutions
in partner countries. For example, in Central America
these programs are carried out through the Central
America Regional Security Initiative, while those in
the Caribbean are conducted through the Caribbean Basin
Security Initiative. The Merida Initiative provides the
framework for assistance and bilateral cooperation with
Mexico. Key activities of these programs include drug
interdiction cooperation, especially maritime-based
efforts in Central America and the Caribbean; law
enforcement capacity building; anticorruption
initiatives and support; and enhanced prosecution and
judicial reform strengthening efforts.
Looking to the Future
Future action by the international community to address
drug cultivation, production, trafficking, and use
should be closely tied to the important priorities
described in the 2016 UNGASS outcome document. These
include, for example, utilization of sound scientific
evidence for prevention and treatment programs,
effective law enforcement, and appropriately balanced
responses to drug-related crime. Areas of special
concern include the connections between drug use and
human rights, especially as they pertain to vulnerable
groups such as women and children. The exchange of
information among nations and between professionals
engaged in reducing drug trafficking and use, and
efforts to stay ahead of new and threatening
developments, such as synthetic substances, are central
to progress by communities, countries, and regions
around the world.
The U.S. Government will continue to work with fellow
United Nations member states to galvanize the
international community toward implementation of the
principles that were agreed upon at the 2016 UNGASS.
General coordination among concerned United Nations
entities is particularly important. This includes
collaboration among bodies within the UN structure as a
whole, but particularly those that concern themselves
to some extent with drug control and related social
issues.
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You are hereby authorized and directed to submit this
report, with its Bolivia, Burma, and Venezuela
memoranda of justification, under section 706 of the
FRAA, to the Congress, and publish it in the Federal
Register.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
Washington, September 12, 2016
[FR Doc. 2016-22823
Filed 9-19-16; 11:15 am]
Billing code 4710-10-P