(CMC)-President Joe Biden has identified Jamaica, The Bahamas, Belize, and Haiti as key drug transit or illicit drug-producing nations for fiscal year 2025. While these designations signal significant drug trafficking concerns, Biden emphasized that they do not imply sanctions or a reflection of the governments’ counter-narcotics efforts.
Biden explained that the designation considers a country’s geographic and economic factors that facilitate drug transit or production, regardless of the government’s counterdrug measures. He also noted that Bolivia, Burma, and Venezuela were named for not meeting international counternarcotics obligations.
In a positive development, drug overdose deaths in the U.S. decreased by 3% in 2023, the first drop since 2018, reflecting the impact of the administration’s investments. The global drug crisis continues to be a priority, with the U.S. leading a Global Coalition and pushing for international controls on synthetic drug precursors.
The U.N. has supported these efforts by placing international controls on chemicals used to make fentanyl, methamphetamine, and MDMA. Biden stressed the importance of international cooperation and trilateral partnerships, particularly with Mexico and Canada, to combat the fentanyl crisis and related drug trafficking issues.
