United States Helping Countries Counter Illegal Drugs

Washington - The United States is committing resources to help other countries enforce anti-drug and money-laundering laws, said a top State Department official.

"Our cooperative efforts are essential," David Johnson said in a briefing ( http://www.state.gov/p/inl/rls/rm/137531.htm ) at the department. Johnson is the State Department's assistant secretary for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs

U.S. assistance ranges from training law enforcement officers to providing economic assistance to farmers to help them move away from poppy production.

The illegal drug trade threatens the security interests of the United States and the international community, according to the 2010 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report released March 1. "No other criminal activity can match the profits generated from illegal narcotics trafficking," the report ( http://www.state.gov/p/inl/rls/nrcrpt/2010/ ) says.

The United States recognizes that it also needs to reduce its domestic demand for illegal drugs. "Without additional progress in reducing demand at home, our gains will be under severe pressure," the report states.

The report, which covers activities in 2009, says that during the past decade, virtually every country has recognized the serious threats posed by the drug trade, and such consensus is a great advantage to future drug-control efforts.

In the Western Hemisphere, Colombia's citizens and political leadership have resolved to re-establish the rule of law, resulting in reductions in illegal drug production, according to the report. "The Colombian state is no longer in danger from insurgents fueled by the drug trade," the report says.

The United States and Mexico have agreed to cooperate more closely to strengthen institutions that prosecute those involved in the drug trade and other organized crime. Mexico also is developing the means to do background investigations of its entire police force. For the first time, trafficking groups are facing a threat from the state "which they cannot win by bribery or intimidations," according to the report.

As Mexico and Colombia continue to apply pressure on drug traffickers, countries in Central America and the Caribbean face problems from displaced traffickers who use land routes and coastal waters to move illegal drugs. To address the displacement, the United States is helping communicate police information to affected governments and is paying for police equipment, training and the development of new community programs.

The United Nations confirms that the drug trade is becoming more fragmented, the report says, with new markets and routes. Drugs are being trafficked by air from the Venezuela/Colombia border through West African countries to Europe, the region with the fastest growing cocaine markets, the report says. Despite limited capacity in many West African countries to investigate and prosecute drug traffickers, there have been some successes, notably in Sierra Leone.

The United States is prepared to deepen its work with Venezuela to help counter the increasing flow of illegal drugs through the country, according to the report. One problem, according to Johnson, is that while Venezuela has been willing to cooperate to fight drug trafficking by sea, it has not been willing to cooperate in stopping trafficking by air.

On a positive note, Afghanistan's poppy production declined about 30 percent between 2007 and 2009, Johnson said. In 2009, the United States shifted its approach from focusing on eradicating poppies to a more cost-effective approach of developing alternative ways for farmers to earn a living. In Helmand province, Afghans have both expanded police enforcement and offered alternatives to drug production, he said.