Caribbean Nations Named Major Drug Transit Countries for 2025

News Americas, New York, NY, September 17, 2024: Several Caribbean nations, including The Bahamas, Belize, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Jamaica, have been designated by U.S. President Joe Biden as Major Drug Transit or Major Illicit Drug Producing Countries for Fiscal Year 2025. This designation was outlined in a memorandum issued by the President to the U.S. State Department on September 15th.

FLASHBACK – A Haitian Coast Guard officer, on a Port-au-Prince dock, guards cocaine and marijuana confiscated. The drugs were confiscated in the southeastern port of Jacmel from a boat that arrived from Colombia. (Photo credit: THONY BELIZAIRE/AFP via Getty Images)

The memorandum highlights that these countries play a significant role as direct sources of precursor chemicals used in the production of drugs that have a considerable impact on the United States.

Other nations included in this list are Afghanistan, Bolivia, Burma, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.

President Biden clarified that a country’s presence on this list does not necessarily reflect its government’s efforts or level of cooperation with the U.S. in countering drug trafficking. Instead, the inclusion stems from geographic, commercial, and economic factors that allow drug transit or production, even in cases where governments have implemented strong narcotics control and law enforcement measures.

Additionally, Biden named Bolivia, Burma, and Venezuela as countries that have failed demonstrably in the past 12 months to meet their obligations under international counternarcotics agreements.