United States President George W. Bush on Thursday again included The Bahamas on a list of 20 countries identified as major transit or major illicit drug producing countries.
The other countries named were: Afghanistan, Bolivia, Brazil, Burma, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela.
But the president’s memorandum to the secretary of state noted that, “A country’s presence on the Majors List is not necessarily an adverse reflection of its government’s counter-narcotics efforts or level of cooperation with the United States.”
It’s a point that Under Secretary in the Ministry of National Security Peter Deveaux-Isaacs made in an interview with Love 97 news last night.
“We’ve done quite a few things in the last couple years to coordinate our activities in drug control,” Mr. Deveaux-Isaacs said.
“The National Anti-Drug Plan was adopted by parliament last year and we’ve made some progress in setting up the National Anti-Drug Secretariat which will in effect implement the drug plan.”
He also indicated that the country’s placement on the list again came as no surprise to local authorities.
“The report is consistent with the reports that have been issued by the United States in the past,” Mr. Deveaux-Isaacs pointed out.
“The fact that we are where we are located geographically – between the major producing centres in the south and the major demand centre for drugs in the north – it is likely that we will remain classified by the United States as a major drug transit area.”
President Bush also designated Burma and Venezuela as countries that have failed “demonstrably” during the previous 12 months to adhere to their obligations under international counternarcotics agreements.
The president determined that support for programmes to aid Venezuela’s democratic institutions, establish selected community development projects, and strengthen Venezuela’s political party system is vital to the national interests of the United States.
President Bush removed China and Vietman from the list of major drug transit or major illicit drug producing countries, saying there is insufficient evidence to suggest that China is a major source zone or transit country for illicit narcotics that significantly affect the United States.
He also said there is insufficient evidence to refute claims by the Government of Vietnam that it has virtually eliminated opium poppy production.
“Additionally, although cooperation with United States law enforcement is limited, there are no indications of a significant Vietnam based drug threat to the United States,” the memorandum said.
Mr. Bush said the Government of Canada has made real progress in curbing the diversion into the United Sates of psuedoepherdrine, which fuels the production of methamphetamine.
He added, “While Haiti made efforts this year to improve its performance, we reiterate our concerns from last year about the Interim Government of Haiti’s inability to effectively organize Haitian law enforcement resources to permit sustained counternarcotics efforts.
“Further, the national criminal justice system must be significantly strengthened in order to be effective and gain public confidence.”
By: Candia Dames, The Bahama Journal
