By Paramita Datta
US President Donald Trump has named China, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, and 19 additional nations as key drug transit or significant illegal drug-producing countries, cautioning that their actions pose a risk to the safety of the United States.
In a Presidential Determination sent to Congress on Monday, Trump identified these nations as origins or pathways for illegal drugs coming into the United States.
As per the White House, Trump submitted the “Major’s List” to Congress, identifying these nations as accountable for acquiring and distributing illegal drugs into the US, PTI reported.
The State Department explained that being on the list didn’t automatically indicate a government’s degree of cooperation or effectiveness in counternarcotics efforts; rather, it was determined by geographic, commercial, and economic elements that facilitated the transit or production of drugs or precursor chemicals, regardless of the government’s strong and thorough narcotics control and law enforcement actions.
The list contains Afghanistan, The Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Burma, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.
The White House indicated that the “Major’s List” was meant to pinpoint countries viewed as key origins or pathways for illegal narcotics entering the United States. The US State Department clarified that the designation addressed not just production but also the movement of drugs across borders.
Five countries — Afghanistan, Bolivia, Burma, Colombia, and Venezuela — were highlighted for having “failed clearly to make significant efforts” to reduce drug production and trafficking.
The US State Department stated that being on the list does not automatically indicate a lack of collaboration by governments. Rather, it highlights geographic and economic factors that enable drug production or transportation.
Trump stated in a declaration that the nation’s position as the world’s biggest supplier of precursor chemicals driving illegal fentanyl manufacturing has been thoroughly recorded. The statement indicates that China was a significant provider contributing to worldwide outbreaks of other synthetic drugs, such as nitazenes and methamphetamine. The US called on Beijing to implement more robust and ongoing measures to reduce these chemical shipments and to hold accountable the drug offenders enabling them.
Regarding Afghanistan, Trump rejected the Taliban’s well-known prohibition on drugs, emphasizing that stockpiles and production persisted in supplying global markets. He mentioned that certain Taliban members still benefit from this trade and stated that he is once again categorizing Afghanistan as having clearly failed to meet its drug control responsibilities, considering the significant threats to the U.S.
Trump connected the international drug trade to the financing of terrorism, claiming that the illegal earnings from narcotics were supporting violent organizations globally.
He stated that the trafficking of fentanyl and other lethal illegal drugs into the US by transnational organized crime has resulted in a national emergency, including a public health crisis that continues to be the primary cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 44.