The President of the United States, Joe Biden, included this Friday (15) China on the American government’s list of the main drug producing or transit countries in the world, due to the manufacture of chemical precursors of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid.
In a memo to Congress, Biden also accused Bolivia and Venezuela of failing to comply with their international obligations to combat drug trafficking and highlighted that cocaine production in Colombia remains very high.
The U.S. list of top narcotics producing or transit countries this year includes Afghanistan, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico , Myanmar, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Peru and Venezuela.
The US president must present this list to Congress every year to determine the budget dedicated to combating drug trafficking.
Biden added China to the list after the law was changed to include countries that manufacture chemicals used in the production of synthetic drugs.
“The United States strongly urges China and other countries that are manufacturers of these chemicals to strengthen supply chains and prevent trafficking,” he said in the document.
According to Washington, Mexican cartels manufacture fentanyl through cosmetic products purchased legally in China and then traffic it to the United States, where the worst opioid crisis in history is taking place.
In the memo, Biden again included Bolivia, Venezuela and Myanmar on the list of countries that failed to comply with their obligations last year under international anti-drug agreements.
However, he called US anti-drug programs for these countries “vital” to prevent Congress from cutting their budgets.
Biden called on the government of Luis Arce in Bolivia to take measures to “reduce illicit coca plantations that continue to exceed legal limits established in Bolivian legislation.”
On the other hand, the president removed Afghanistan from this category, after the Taliban regime made “progress” in reducing the cultivation of poppy, which is used to produce heroin.
Although Colombia was not listed among countries that failed to meet their obligations, Biden warned that “illicit coca cultivation and cocaine production remain at historically high levels.”
For this reason, he urged Gustavo Petro’s government to “prioritize efforts to expand its presence in coca-producing regions and achieve sustainable progress against criminal organizations.”
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