Biden adds China to list of drug-producing countries

The American president Joe Biden added this Friday to China to the list of transit countries and drug producers and again accused Venezuela and Bolivia of not fulfilling their obligations in the fight against narcotics.

The list, detailed in a memo addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, includes Afghanistan, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Burma, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Peru and Venezuela.

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The inclusion of China This was possible because the United States changed legislation to add the countries of origin of the chemicals used in the production of medicines.

He did so thinking above all about fentanyl, a synthetic opioid responsible for most of the more than 109,000 overdose deaths in 2022 in the country, according to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

U.S “strongly urges China and other chemical source countries to strengthen supply chains.” It is “avoid your detour”states Biden in the memo.

According to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), most chemical precursors come from China and ends up in the hands of Mexican drug cartels.

That’s why Biden highlights in the memo that “no country is more important than Mexico” in the fight against drugs.

In relation to Colombia, it warns that “illicit coca cultivation and cocaine production remain at historically high levels”.

Biden urges the government of the Colombian president, the leftist Gustavo Petro, “to expand your presence” in coca-producing regions and “make sustainable progress against criminal organizations”.

The memorandum specifies that the reason countries are included in the list “it is the combination of geographic, commercial and economic factors that allow the transit or production of drugs, even if a government has adopted measures” of control.

However, the president once again accuses Bolivia, Burma and Venezuela of “demonstratedly did not comply” during the last 12 months, its international obligations in the fight against drugs. And he insists that support programs for these countries “They are vital to the national interests of the United States”.

Biden urges the government of left-wing Bolivian President Luis Arce to “take additional measures,” “reduce illicit cultivation” that “continues to exceed legal limits,” and “continue to expand international cooperation” to dismantle transnational networks.

This year, Afghanistan leaves the list of countries that have “demonstrably” failed thanks to its progress “in reducing poppy cultivation and the production of narcotics”.

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Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.