President Donald Trump is holding accountable countries that produce or serve as transport hubs for illicit drugs.
“By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States,” the President stated in a message on September 15 to the U.S. Congress, “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.”
“Consistent with the statutory definition of a major drug transit or major illicit drug producing country,” he added, “the reason countries are placed on the list is 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.”
President Trump 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 required” by U.S. law.
“Transnational organized crime’s trafficking of fentanyl and other deadly illicit drugs into the United States has created a national emergency, including a public health crisis in the United States that remains the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 44,” President Trump noted. “More than 40 percent of Americans know someone who has died from an opioid overdose, and in 2024 the United States averaged over 200 deaths daily due to illicit drugs.”
Mexico has surged 10,000 National Guard troops to the U.S. – Mexico border, achieved major fentanyl and precursor chemical seizures, and transferred 29 high-value targets – including major cartel figures – to United States custody to stand trial for their crimes.
The United States has worked closely with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to achieve the most secure southwest border in history, saving lives and protecting communities from the scourge of fentanyl.
“In Venezuela, the criminal regime of indicted drug trafficker Nicolás Maduro leads one of the largest cocaine trafficking networks in the world, and the United States will continue to seek to bring Maduro and other members of his complicit regime to justice for their crimes,” stated President Trump.
President Trump pointed to the PRC’s role as the world’s largest source of precursor chemicals fueling illicit fentanyl production. “The PRC’s leadership,” he stated, “can and must take stronger and sustained action to cut down these chemical flows and prosecute the drug criminals facilitating them.”
President Trump called “on countries where these drugs originate and transit to fulfill their obligations and shut off these supplies – or face serious consequences.”
President Donald Trump is holding accountable countries that produce or serve as transport hubs for illicit drugs.