For the third consecutive year, the United States government has included Nicaragua on the list of countries that are considered to be “significant transit or producers of illicit drugs,” according to the update of the list for fiscal year 2025 that was sent this week to the Congress of that country.
«By the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States (…) I hereby identify the following countries as major drug transit countries or major producers of illicit drugs – including countries that are a significant direct source of precursor chemicals used in the production of certain drugs and substances that significantly affect the United States -: 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,» says the memorandum sent by the President of the United States, Joe Biden, to the Congress of that country.
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The letter states that “the presence of a country on the above list does not necessarily reflect its government’s anti-drug efforts or its level of cooperation with the United States” and is not “a sanction or penalty.”
It also explains that the reasons why countries are included on this list are due to “geographic, commercial and economic factors that allow the transit or production of drugs or chemical precursors, even if a government has implemented robust and diligent narcotics control and law enforcement measures.”
Nicaragua has been questioned in recent years for its lack of action against illegal drug trafficking following the socio-political crisis in Nicaragua. At the beginning of this year, Russian authorities reported the seizure of a shipment of one ton of cocaine that arrived in that country on board a container from Nicaragua. In March and June, Colombian authorities also seized at least five tons of cocaine and marijuana from Nicaragua.
Fewer overdose deaths
US authorities said that although there are still 23 countries considered to be “significant producers or transiters of illicit drugs”, there was significant data showing some progress in the fight against drug trafficking and its impact on society.
They noted that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that there were approximately 107,543 drug overdose deaths in the United States during 2023, which represented a 3% decrease compared to the estimated 111,029 deaths in 2022.
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“This is the first annual decline in drug overdose deaths since 2018 and a sign that my Administration’s historic investments are having an impact,” Biden said in his letter.
The US president also detailed that they are “taking unprecedented measures to disrupt the supply of fentanyl, other deadly drugs and precursor chemicals,” pointing out that the United States Customs and Border Protection Office (CBP) “has intercepted more fentanyl at ports of entry in the past two years than in the previous five years combined, keeping tens of millions of fentanyl-laced pills and thousands of pounds of fentanyl powder away from our communities.”
US authorities say coca cultivation and cocaine production in South America have “reached record levels,” saying this “requires urgent action by countries in the region.”
Colombia, in South America, Biden noted, “is a strong partner, continuing to work closely with the United States to reduce cocaine production, conduct drug interdiction operations, and dismantle criminal organizations involved in cocaine trafficking.”
