U.S. Includes India Among 22 Major Illicit Drug Producers

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama has identified India among 22 major illicit drug-producing or drug-transit countries that "significantly affect the United States" and asked it to support Afghanistan's counter-narcotics efforts.

Of these 22, three countries -- Bolivia, Burma, and Venezuela -- "failed demonstrably" during the last 12 months to fulfill their obligations under international counternarcotics agreements and conventions, he said in a memo to the secretary of state.

Such a designation can lead to sanctions. But the president granted Burma and Venezuela National Interest Waivers under the Foreign Relations Authorisation Act (FRAA) as he determined that support for programmes to aid these countries remained vital to the national interests of the US.

 Besides India, other countries on the list were: Afghanistan, the Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Burma, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.

A country's presence on the list does not necessarily reflect its counternarcotics efforts or its level of cooperation with the US on illegal drug control, the State Department clarified. The designation can reflect a combination of geographic, commercial, and economic factors that allow drugs to be produced and/or trafficked through a country, it said.

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