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CNN: U.S.'s List of Drug Trifficker



Subject: CNN: U.S.'s List of Drug Triffickers

ran, Malaysia cut from U.S. list of drug
                  countries

                  December 7, 1998 
                  Web posted at: 10:29 PM EST (0329 GMT) 

                  WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The United States said on Monday
it had removed
                  Iran and Malaysia from its annual list of sources of
illegal drugs, but said the
                  two nations still bear watching. 

                  The survey also said that drug transport through Central
America had been
                  disrupted by Hurricane Mitch after a period of rising
traffic over the past year,
                  but that this traffic could resume or even increase as
the region recovers. 

                  U.S. President Bill Clinton, in a letter to Congress,
said Iran had been removed
                  from the list after the United States was able to confirm
the country's reports
                  that it had eradicated cultivation of opium poppies. It
had been on the list since
                  1987. 

                  Iran's progress was welcomed by the White House as a
"positive" step, but
                  officials said the decision to remove it from the list
was unrelated to a slow thaw
                  in U.S.-Iranian relations under Iranian President
Mohammad Khatami. 

                  "These decisions on the drug list are done by statute,
and there is a specific
                  criteria set forth by that statute of how you make the
list or how you move off
                  the list. And it does not include political
considerations," said White House
                  spokesman Joe Lockhart. 

                  Malaysia was removed because although it is
geographically well suited as a
                  transit route for heroin to the United States, there has
been no sign for several
                  years that U.S.-bound drugs have been shipped through the
country. 

                  The president said Iran and Malaysia would, however,
remain countries "of
                  concern," which bear monitoring due to their potential as
transit routes. 

                  Under U.S. law, countries determined to be major drug
sources are evaluated
                  by the United States for their cooperation in fighting
trafficking. Those that fail to
                  meet the standard can be "decertified" and cut off from
U.S. financial
                  assistance for anti-drug efforts. 

                  Countries listed by the president as major producers or
transit routes for illegal
                  drugs were: Afghanistan, Aruba, the Bahamas, Belize,
Bolivia, Brazil, Burma,
                  Cambodia, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador,
Guatemala, Haiti,
                  Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nigeria,
Pakistan, Panama,
                  Paraguay, Peru. Taiwan, Thailand, Venezuela and Vietnam. 

                  Other countries or regions of concern were Netherlands
Antilles, Syria and
                  Lebanon, Turkey and other countries along a Balkan drug
transit corridor, Cuba,
                  Central Asia, and cannabis-producing states Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan,
                  Morocco, the Philippines and South Africa. 

                  Clinton also said he was concerned about drug trafficking
through Costa Rica,
                  El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, although Hurricane
Mitch had disrupted
                  activity. He said the coastline, ports, transportation
routes and limited law
                  enforcement capabilities in the region made it attractive
to traffickers. 

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