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US President Donald Trump has named 23 countries as the major drug transit or major illicit drug-producing countries in a ''Presidential Determination'' submitted to Congress.
China, Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan are among the 23 countries. The US President expressed commitment to defeating the threat posed by the illegal drug trade in the US. The other countries in the list include The Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Burma, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela. President Trump, in the ''Presidential Determination,'' designated Afghanistan, Bolivia, Burma, Colombia, and Venezuela as "having failed demonstrably" during the previous 12 months to both adhere to their obligations under international counternarcotics agreements and to take the measures to improve their counternarcotics efforts. "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," the Presidential Determination read. It reasoned that the countries are placed on the list on "the combination of geographic, commercial, and economic factors that allow drugs or precursor chemicals to be transited or produced, even if a government has engaged in robust and diligent narcotics control and law enforcement measures." Earlier, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), in close coordination with other agencies, dismantled a transnational drug trafficking syndicate that used encrypted digital platforms, drop shipping models, and cryptocurrency to smuggle controlled medicines across four continents. The cartel was busted during a routine vehicle interception near Bengali Market in New Delhi, unravelling a sophisticated criminal web operating across India, the United States of America, Australia, and Europe, showcasing the global reach of illicit pharma networks and NCB''s capability to lead coordinated international enforcement actions. US Embassy in India thanked NCB for the actions against the illegal drugs racket. "Thanks to NCB and Indian authorities for helping protect Americans against illegal drugs and saving American lives!" it said. (ANI)
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