PRESIDENT CLINTON WARNED US ABOUT ARUBA 10 YEARS AGO

Text Of A Letter From The President To The Chairmen And Ranking Members Of The House Committees On Appropriations And International Relations And The Senate Committees On Appropriations And Foreign Relations

December 2, 1996

Dear Mr. Chairman: (Dear Ranking Member:)

In accordance with the provisions of section 490(h) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (Faa), as amended, I have determined that the following countries are major illicit drug-producing or drug-transit countries:

Afghanistan, Aruba, The Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, China, Columbia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Jamaica, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Venezuela, and Vietnam.

These countries have been selected on the basis of information from the March 1, 1996, International Narcotics Control Strategy Report and from other United States Government sources.

This year, I have added Aruba to the list of major illicit drug-transit countries. At the same time, I am adding the Netherlands Antilles to those countries that we monitor as potentially significant drug-transit countries.

These already include Cuba, Turkey, the Balkan Route countries and the former poppy-growing countries of Central Asia.

Aruba

In the past 2 years, there has been a major shift in drug trafficking patterns, as enforcement activities in Mexico, the western Caribbean, and The Bahamas have pushed trafficking routes eastward. Taking advantage of the limited enforcement capabilities of most eastern Caribbean countries, Colombian drug syndicates have been routing U.S.-bound cocaine and heroin through the region.

Consequently, countries that in the past have been peripheral to the drug trade have now taken on major roles that significantly affect the United States. While all of the eastern Caribbean is vulnerable to exploitation by traffickers,

we have identified Aruba as a major drug-transit country. Aruba is situated on a major drug-transit route, with the vast majority of the cocaine and heroin that transits Aruba destined for the United States.

Cocaine trafficking through Aruba to Puerto Rico continues to involve both transshipment through Aruba and redistribution from Aruba as a hub to other locations. Cocaine is smuggled by ship via Aruba, using commercial vessels, cruise ships, pleasure craft, and fishing boats. In addition, according to the Dea, traffickers use Aruba's free-zone facilities to engage in transit of bulk shipments of cocaine without scrutiny by local officials. A substantial portion of the free-zone's businesses in Aruba are owned and operated by members of the Mansur family, who have been indicted in the United States on charges of conspiracy to launder trafficking proceeds. Analysis of the trafficking patterns indicates that there is considerable drug activity taking place around the Netherlands Antilles, especially around St. Maarten. Although, at present, we have only anecdotal information, it is possible that significant quantities of U.S.-bound drugs are involved.

Sincerely,

William J. Clinton