Report cites Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Jamaica as major transit points

2006 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report

By Scott Miller Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- As a result of their geographic location, many nations of the Caribbean are utilized as transit countries to shift cocaine, marijuana and other illicit drugs from South America to the United States, Europe and elsewhere, according to the U.S. State Department's International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) for 2006.

Under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, the president is required to annually submit to Congress a list of those countries determined to be major illicit drug-producing and/or drug-transit countries. The INCSR provides the factual basis for the designations contained in the president's report to Congress, as it outlines the efforts of nations to address all aspects of the international drug trade. (See related article.)

The INCSR for 2006 finds that many nations of the Caribbean continue to serve as transit countries for shipments of illicit narcotics from South America to the United States, Europe and other markets.

More specifically, the 2006 report identifies the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica as "major" transit points for illicit narcotics bound for the United States and elsewhere.

The report further indicates that the United States considers the broad geographical area of the eastern and southern Caribbean as an area of concern and notes that Haiti is "a key conduit for drug traffickers."

Cuban territorial waters and airspace are also an attractive trans-shipment corridor for narcotics trafficking in the Caribbean, the INCSR says.

The United States is working with Caribbean governments to build coherent counternarcotics programs. These efforts include working with the government of the Dominican Republic to institutionalize judicial reform and good governance, working closely with the Bahamian government to extradite drug traffickers to the United States and working with the government of Jamaica to tackle corruption, modernize its judicial system and strengthen maritime interdiction efforts.

The cornerstone of U.S. support for combating illegal drug trafficking in Haiti is the reform of the Haitian National Police, says the INCSR. The United States provided $8.2 million to this effort in 2005.

Cuba presents a unique challenge, according to the INCSR. Even though Cuban officials profess their interest in developing bilateral agreements with the United States to combat drug trafficking, terrorism and trafficking in persons, such agreements are not possible until the Cuban regime abandons its current totalitarian character, the INCSR adds.

The full text of the two-volume International Narcotics Control Strategy Report for 2006 is available on the Department of State Web site.

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