U.S. Report on Global Drug Trade

Country-by-country highlights of the State Department's annual report on
the illicit drug trade worldwide:

Mexico: The country faces a broad array of drug-related problems, from
production and transshipment of illicit drugs to growing consumption. While
the government's counternarcotics effort made progress in 1999 against the
production, traffic and abuse of illicit drugs, it still faces daunting
challenges. The cartels that control production and shipments of drugs, and
related money-laundering and organized crime activities, are powerful and
well-organized and have made a concerted effort to corrupt and intimidate
public officials responsible for combatting them.

Colombia: Colombia produces and distributes more cocaine than any other
country in the world and is also an important supplier of heroin. Colombia
bolstered its counternarcotics efforts in 1999 by extraditing a Colombian
citizen to the United States on narcotics changes for the first time in
nine years, and the coca eradication program had a successful year in 1999.
But coca production nonetheless increased by 20 percent. Colombia produces
an estimated 6 tons of heroin annually, virtually all of which is destined
for the U.S. market.

Nigeria: The hub of African narcotics trafficking is in Nigeria. Nigerian
crime organizations operate extensive global trafficking networks, dominate
the sub-Saharan drug markets and account for a large part of the heroin
imported into the United States. As was the case last year, Nigeria's
counternarcotics effort remains unfocused and lacking in material support.
The strong public denunciation of narcotics trafficking and financial
crimes by the new democratic government of President Olesegun Obasanjo is a
welcome departure from the high-level indifference that characterized most
of Nigerian military rule. However, there have been no major new actions or
policies to bring about change.

Afghanistan: According to U.S. estimates, Afghanistan became the world's
largest producer of opium poppy in 1999. Despite efforts by the United
Nations and by private groups, efforts at crop eradication, drug supply
reduction, counternarcotics law enforcement and demand reduction have
completely failed.

Peru: Peru is still one of the world's major producers of cocaine but the
Peruvian government has made enormous strides toward its goal of
eliminating coca cultivation. Despite the rehabilitation of some previously
abandoned coca fields, an additional 24 percent of coca cultivation was
eliminated in 1999 for an overall reduction of 66 percent over the last
four years.

Bolivia: An extremely effective eradication program in the principal
coca-growing region surpassed last year's record-setting results, reducing
the number of hectares under cultivation by more than half and by 43
percent overall. Despite the progress, Bolivia remains the world's
third-largest supplier of cocaine.

China: Strong effective steps were taken by China to combat the use and
trafficking of narcotic drugs in 1999. Despite a decline in heroin
seizures, China's total in this category still surpassed the amount seized
in all other Asian countries.

Burma: Burma is the world's second-largest source of illicit opium and
heroin. Due in part to severe drought conditions in poppy-growing areas,
production and cultivation continued to decline significantly in 1999 for
the third year in a row. The government maintained most of its crop
eradication efforts in 1999 but made little, if any effort, against money
laundering.