(CNN) – The Joe Biden government identified multiple Latin American countries among the major trafficking or illicit drug-producing nations and claimed that Venezuela and Bolivia had failed to meet their obligations to fight drug trafficking. He also announced that he will seek to “expand cooperation with key partners such as Mexico and Colombia.”
In a memorandum released Wednesday, President Joe Biden identified the following countries as the main trafficking nations or producers of illicit drugs: Afghanistan, the Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Myanmar, 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 above list is not a reflection of its government’s anti-drug efforts or the level of cooperation with the United States,” wrote Biden, who did point specifically to Bolivia and Venezuela. having failed in a demonstrable manner in making substantial efforts during the previous 12 months (…) to adhere to its obligations under international agreements against drug trafficking. “
“The United States is committed to working together with Western Hemisphere countries as neighbors and partners to address our shared challenges in drug trafficking and use. My administration will seek to expand cooperation with key partners, such as Mexico and Colombia, to shape a collective and comprehensive response and expand efforts to address the production and trafficking of dangerous synthetic drugs that are responsible for many of our overdose deaths, particularly fentanyl, fentanyl analogs, and methamphetamine. “, indicates the memo.
Biden indicated that his administration will continue to work with Mexico to intensify efforts to dismantle transnational criminal organizations and their networks, as well as to increase prosecutions of criminal leaders and facilitators.
“In Bolivia, I urge the Government to take additional measures to safeguard the country’s legal coca markets from criminal exploitation and reduce the illicit cultivation of coca that continues to exceed the legal limits of Bolivia’s national laws for uses. medicinal and traditional “, reads the statement.
“In addition, the United States will seek to expand cooperation with China, India and other countries that are the source of the chemical resource to disrupt the global flow of synthetic drugs and their chemical precursors,” he added.
Overdose deaths in the United States
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), drug overdose deaths increased by about 30% in the United States in 2020, reaching the highest figure never registered.
“Deaths from overdoses of synthetic opioids (mainly fentanyl) and psychostimulants such as methamphetamine also increased in 2020 compared to 2019. Deaths from cocaine also increased in 2020, as did deaths from natural and semi-synthetic opioids. (like prescription painkillers), “the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) said in a statement.
Biden has indicated that the epidemic of overdose and the current drug addiction in the US is one of the main public health priorities of his administration, so it is necessary to make domestic investments and improve cooperation with foreign partners to attack the drug suppliers and the criminal organizations that benefit from them.
The 2021 U.S. Rescue Plan will allocate approximately $ 4 billion to support behavioral health programs and substance use disorders.