Presidential Document2023-21378
Presidential Determination on Major Drug Transit or Major Drug Illicit Countries for Fiscal Year 2024
Primary source
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Published
September 27, 2023
Signed
September 15, 2023
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 186 (Wednesday, September 27, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 186 (Wednesday, September 27, 2023)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 66673-66675]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-21378]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 88 , No. 186 / Wednesday, September 27, 2023
/ Presidential Documents
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Presidential Determination No. 2023-12 of September 15,
2023
Presidential Determination on Major Drug Transit
or Major Drug Illicit Countries for Fiscal Year 2024
Memorandum for the Secretary of State
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States,
including 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 or major illicit drug producing
countries: Afghanistan, The Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia,
Burma, the People's Republic of China (PRC), Colombia,
Costa Rica, the 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 list is not
necessarily a reflection of its government's
counterdrug efforts or level of cooperation with the
United States. Consistent with the statutory definition
of a major drug transit or major illicit drug producing
country set forth in sections 481(e)(2) and 481(e)(5)
of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended
(Public Law 87-195) (FAA), the reason countries are
placed on the list is the combination of geographic,
commercial, and economic factors that allow drugs to be
transited or produced, even if a government has engaged
in robust and diligent narcotics control and law
enforcement measures.
The James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2023 (Public Law 117-263) amended the
definition of major drug source countries to include
source countries of precursor chemicals used to produce
illicit drugs significantly affecting the United
States. For countries with large chemical and
pharmaceutical industries, preventing precursor
chemicals from being diverted to the production of
illicit drugs is a particularly difficult challenge,
including for the United States and other countries
with strict regulatory regimes to prevent diversion.
The PRC has been identified as a major source country
due to this change in legislation, and the United
States strongly urges the PRC and other chemical source
countries to tighten chemical supply chains and prevent
diversion.
Pursuant to section 706(2)(A) of the FRAA, I hereby
designate Bolivia, Burma, and Venezuela as having
failed demonstrably during the previous 12 months to
both adhere to their obligations under the
international counternarcotics agreements and to take
the measures required by section 489(a)(1) of the FAA.
Included with this determination are justifications for
the designations of Bolivia, Burma, and Venezuela, as
required by section 706(2)(B) of the FRAA. I have also
determined, in accordance with provisions of section
706(3)(A) of the FRAA, that United States programs that
support Bolivia, Burma, and Venezuela are vital to the
national interests of the United States.
Although the rate of drug overdose deaths in the United
States is flattening after years of sharp increases,
more than 109,000 lives were lost to drug overdoses in
2022, according to preliminary data from the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention. This remains
unacceptably high, and my Administration is deploying
unprecedented resources and building new partnerships
to confront this public health and security crisis.
Domestically, in the last fiscal year alone, the United
States allocated more than $24 billion to expand
evidence-based prevention and treatment, including harm
reduction and
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recovery support services, with targeted investments to
meet the needs of populations at greatest risk for
overdose and substance use disorder. Beyond these
additional resources, my Administration expanded access
to Naloxone, which can reverse opioid-related
overdoses, and made this life-saving medicine available
over-the-counter. My Administration has also removed
barriers to treatment, including by working with the
Congress on bipartisan legislation. My Fiscal Year 2024
Budget calls for an even greater historic investment of
$46.1 billion for National Drug Control Program
agencies, a more than $2 billion increase from what was
enacted during the previous year. This request also
includes significant investments in reducing the supply
of illicit drugs originating from beyond our borders.
The vast majority of illicit drugs causing the most
damage in the United States originate from beyond our
borders, and our most effective means of reducing the
availability of these drugs is to expand and improve
our cooperation with international partners. Most drug
overdose deaths within the United States involve
illicit synthetic drugs and particularly synthetic
opioids such as fentanyl. These synthetic drugs can be
produced anywhere using precursor chemicals widely
available for legitimate purposes, at a fraction of the
cost and time it takes criminal organizations to
produce dangerous drugs from plants.
Every country and region of the globe faces its own
challenges from synthetic drugs. In Africa, the
synthetic opioid tramadol is driving increasing numbers
of injuries and fatalities, especially when mixed with
other drugs. In the Middle East, synthetic stimulants
are trafficked and sold as counterfeit captagon in
large quantities. Ketamine--a synthetic anesthetic with
hallucinogenic effects--is increasingly encountered
throughout Asia, and it is being found mixed with
methamphetamine, which appears to be growing more
prevalent and more potent all over the world. And the
categories of synthetic drugs are constantly shifting,
as drug traffickers adjust formulas to avoid
international controls and domestic regulations to
create new demand. More than 1,100 new psychoactive
substances and designer drugs have been detected and
reported to the United Nations over the past decade
alone.
To confront this common challenge, the United States
launched this past summer a new Global Coalition to
Address Synthetic Drug Threats. This diverse coalition
of countries and international organizations will share
best practices and expand cooperation to prevent the
illicit manufacture and trafficking of synthetic drugs,
detect emerging drug threats and use patterns, and
promote public health interventions to prevent and
reduce drug use and promote recovery. The United States
welcomes all like-minded governments to participate in
the work of this coalition and join efforts against
these rapidly evolving global threats.
The political commitment of our international partners
remains critical to achieving success against illicit
drug threats, and no country is more important than
Mexico. Under the Bicentennial Framework for Security,
Public Health, and Safe Communities, our two countries
have cooperated to seize greater volumes of fentanyl
and other drugs. We have worked successfully during the
last year to improve law enforcement collaboration,
prevent the diversion of precursor chemicals, and
arrest key organized crime figures involved in drugs
and firearms trafficking, migrant smuggling, and other
criminal activity. Sadly, some of these arrests
resulted in the loss of lives of Mexican officials, and
their sacrifices underscore the shared commitment from
both countries to do what is necessary to fight these
criminal organizations. To that end and to build on the
increased cooperation of the past year, both countries
should continue strengthening law enforcement
information sharing and collaboration; build capacity
to detect and counter drug production and trafficking
and diversion of chemicals and drug-related equipment;
and improve mechanisms to monitor, prevent, and treat
drug substance use disorders.
With our key partners in South America, the United
States will continue to support ongoing efforts to
reduce coca cultivation and cocaine production,
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expand access to justice, and promote alternative
livelihoods. Colombia has historically been a strong
partner in the fight against the drug trade.
Nevertheless, illicit coca cultivation and cocaine
production remain at historically high levels, and I
urge the Government of Colombia to prioritize efforts
to expand its presence in coca-producing regions and
achieve sustainable progress against criminal
organizations. In Bolivia, I encourage additional steps
by the government to safeguard the country's licit coca
markets from criminal exploitation, reduce illicit coca
cultivation that continues to exceed legal limits under
Bolivia's domestic laws for medical and traditional
use, and continue to expand cooperation with
international partners to disrupt transnational
criminal networks.
Afghanistan has been removed from the list of countries
determined to have ``failed demonstrably'' due to
progress made within that country over the past year in
reducing the cultivation of opium poppy and production
of illicit narcotics. However, I remain concerned by
the continuation of the illicit drug trade within and
originating from Afghanistan, including
methamphetamine. The country's drug control efforts
must be sustained and expanded to include meaningful
steps against drug trafficking and the drug supply
chain, including by eliminating illicit drug stockpiles
and curbing methamphetamine production. I will
reconsider Afghanistan's status during the next annual
review based on whether these additional steps are
taken, in keeping with Afghanistan's international drug
control commitments and in full respect for the human
rights of its people.
You are authorized and directed to submit this
designation, with the Bolivia, Burma, and Venezuela
memoranda of justification, under section 706 of the
FRAA, to the Congress, and to publish this
determination in the Federal Register.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
Washington, September 15, 2023
[FR Doc. 2023-21378
Filed 9-26-23; 11:15 am]
Billing code 4710-10-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 27, 2023.
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