The 2008 CIA World Factbook - United States. Central Intelligence Agency (popular romance novels .TXT) 📗

British Virgin Islands
  transshipment point for South American
  narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial
  center makes it vulnerable to money laundering

Brunei
  drug trafficking and illegally importing controlled
  substances are serious offenses in Brunei and carry a mandatory
  death penalty

Bulgaria
  major European transshipment point for Southwest Asian
  heroin and, to a lesser degree, South American cocaine for the
  European market; limited producer of precursor chemicals; some money
  laundering of drug-related proceeds through financial institutions

Burma
  remains world's second-largest producer of illicit opium with
  an estimated production in 2008 of 340 metric tons, an increase of
  26%, and cultivation in 2008 was 22,500 hectares, a 4% increase from
  2007; production in the United Wa State Army's areas of greatest
  control remains low; Shan state is the source of 94% of poppy
  cultivation; lack of government will to take on major
  narcotrafficking groups and lack of serious commitment against money
  laundering continues to hinder the overall antidrug effort; major
  source of methamphetamine and heroin for regional consumption;
  currently under Financial Action Task Force countermeasures due to
  continued failure to address its inadequate money-laundering
  controls (2008)

Cambodia
  narcotics-related corruption reportedly involving some in
  the government, military, and police; limited methamphetamine
  production; vulnerable to money laundering due to its cash-based
  economy and porous borders

Canada
  illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic drug market and
  export to US; use of hydroponics technology permits growers to plant
  large quantities of high-quality marijuana indoors; increasing
  ecstasy production, some of which is destined for the US; vulnerable
  to narcotics money laundering because of its mature financial
  services sector

Cape Verde
  used as a transshipment point for Latin American cocaine
  destined for Western Europe; the lack of a well-developed financial
  system limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center

Cayman Islands
  offshore financial center; vulnerable to drug
  transshipment to the US and Europe

Chile
  transshipment country for cocaine destined for Europe and the
  region; economic prosperity and increasing trade have made Chile
  more attractive to traffickers seeking to launder drug profits,
  especially through the Iquique Free Trade Zone, but a recent
  anti-money-laundering law improves controls; imported precursors
  passed on to Bolivia; domestic cocaine consumption is rising, making
  Chile a significant consumer of cocaine

China
  major transshipment point for heroin produced in the Golden
  Triangle region of Southeast Asia; growing domestic drug abuse
  problem; source country for chemical precursors, despite new
  regulations on its large chemical industry

Colombia
  illicit producer of coca, opium poppy, and cannabis;
  world's leading coca cultivator with 167,000 hectares in coca
  cultivation in 2007, a 6% increase over 2006, producing a potential
  of 535 metric tons of pure cocaine; the world's largest producer of
  coca derivatives; supplies cocaine to most of the US market and the
  great majority of other international drug markets; in 2007, aerial
  eradication dispensed herbicide to treat over 153,000 hectares with
  another 67,000 hectares manually eradicated, but aggressive
  replanting on the part of coca growers means Colombia remains a key
  producer; a significant portion of non-US narcotics proceeds are
  either laundered or invested in Colombia through the black market
  peso exchange; important supplier of heroin to the US market; opium
  poppy cultivation is estimated to have fallen 25% between 2006 and
  2007 with a corresponding estimated 27% decline in the yield of pure
  heroin to 1.9 metric tons; (2007)

Congo, Democratic Republic of the one of Africa's biggest producers of cannabis, but mostly for domestic consumption; while rampant corruption and inadequate supervision leaves the banking system vulnerable to money laundering, the lack of a well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center

Costa Rica
  transshipment country for cocaine and heroin from South
  America; illicit production of cannabis in remote areas; domestic
  cocaine consumption, particularly crack cocaine, is rising;
  significant consumption of amphetamines

Cote d'Ivoire
  illicit producer of cannabis, mostly for local
  consumption; utility as a narcotic transshipment point to Europe
  reduced by ongoing political instability; while rampant corruption
  and inadequate supervision leave the banking system vulnerable to
  money laundering, the lack of a developed financial system limits
  the country's utility as a major money-laundering center

Croatia
  transit point along the Balkan route for Southwest Asian
  heroin to Western Europe; has been used as a transit point for
  maritime shipments of South American cocaine bound for Western Europe

Cuba
  territorial waters and air space serve as transshipment zone
  for US- and European-bound drugs; established the death penalty for
  certain drug-related crimes in 1999

Cyprus
  minor transit point for heroin and hashish via air routes and
  container traffic to Europe, especially from Lebanon and Turkey;
  some cocaine transits as well; despite a strengthening of
  anti-money-laundering legislation, remains vulnerable to money
  laundering; reporting of suspicious transactions in offshore sector
  remains weak

Czech Republic
  transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and
  minor transit point for Latin American cocaine to Western Europe;
  producer of synthetic drugs for local and regional markets;
  susceptible to money laundering related to drug trafficking,
  organized crime; significant consumer of ecstasy

Dominica
  transshipment point for narcotics bound for the US and
  Europe; minor cannabis producer; anti-money-laundering enforcement
  is weak, making the country particularly vulnerable to money
  laundering

Dominican Republic
  transshipment point for South American drugs
  destined for the US and Europe; has become a transshipment point for
  ecstasy from the Netherlands and Belgium destined for US and Canada;
  substantial money laundering activity; Colombian narcotics
  traffickers favor the Dominican Republic for illicit financial
  transactions; significant amphetamine consumption

Ecuador
  significant transit country for cocaine originating in
  Colombia and Peru, with over half of the US-bound cocaine passing
  through Ecuadorian Pacific waters; importer of precursor chemicals
  used in production of illicit narcotics; attractive location for
  cash-placement by drug traffickers laundering money because of
  dollarization and weak anti-money-laundering regime; increased
  activity on the northern frontier by trafficking groups and
  Colombian insurgents

Egypt
  transit point for cannabis, heroin, and opium moving to
  Europe, Israel, and North Africa; transit stop for Nigerian drug
  couriers; concern as money laundering site due to lax enforcement of
  financial regulations

El Salvador
  transshipment point for cocaine; small amounts of
  marijuana produced for local consumption; significant use of cocaine

Estonia
  growing producer of synthetic drugs; increasingly important
  transshipment zone for cannabis, cocaine, opiates, and synthetic
  drugs since joining the European Union and the Schengen Accord;
  potential money laundering related to organized crime and drug
  trafficking is a concern, as is possible use of the gambling sector
  to launder funds; major use of opiates and ecstasy

Ethiopia
  transit hub for heroin originating in Southwest and
  Southeast Asia and destined for Europe, as well as cocaine destined
  for markets in southern Africa; cultivates qat (khat) for local use
  and regional export, principally to Djibouti and Somalia (legal in
  all three countries); the lack of a well-developed financial system
  limits the country's utility as a money laundering center

France
  metropolitan France: transshipment point for South American
  cocaine, Southwest Asian heroin, and European synthetics
  French Guiana: small amount of marijuana grown for local
  consumption; minor transshipment point to Europe
  Martinique: transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for
  the US and Europe

Georgia
  limited cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy, mostly for
  domestic consumption; used as transshipment point for opiates via
  Central Asia to Western Europe and Russia

Germany
  source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine
  processors; transshipment point for and consumer of Southwest Asian
  heroin, Latin American cocaine, and European-produced synthetic
  drugs; major financial center

Ghana
  illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade;
  major transit hub for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin and, to a
  lesser extent, South American cocaine destined for Europe and the
  US; widespread crime and money laundering problem, but the lack of a
  well developed financial infrastructure limits the country's utility
  as a money laundering center; significant domestic cocaine and
  cannabis use

Greece
  a gateway to Europe for traffickers smuggling cannabis and
  heroin from the Middle East and Southwest Asia to the West and
  precursor chemicals to the East; some South American cocaine
  transits or is consumed in Greece; money laundering related to drug
  trafficking and organized crime

Grenada
  small-scale cannabis cultivation; lesser transshipment point
  for marijuana and cocaine to US

Guatemala
  major transit country for cocaine and heroin; in 2005,
  cultivated 100 hectares of opium poppy after reemerging as a
  potential source of opium in 2004; potential production of less than
  1 metric ton of pure heroin; marijuana cultivation for mostly
  domestic consumption; proximity to Mexico makes Guatemala a major
  staging area for drugs (particularly for cocaine); money laundering
  is a serious problem; corruption is a major problem

Guinea-Bissau
  increasingly important transit country for South
  American cocaine enroute to Europe; enabling environment for
  trafficker operations thanks to pervasive corruption;
  archipelago-like geography around the capital facilitates drug
  smuggling

Guyana
  transshipment point for narcotics from South America -
  primarily Venezuela - to Europe and the US; producer of cannabis;
  rising money laundering related to drug trafficking and human
  smuggling

Haiti
  Caribbean transshipment point for cocaine en route to the US
  and Europe; substantial bulk cash smuggling activity; Colombian
  narcotics traffickers favor Haiti for illicit financial
  transactions; pervasive corruption; significant consumer of cannabis

Honduras
  transshipment point for drugs and narcotics; illicit
  producer of cannabis, cultivated on small plots and used principally
  for local consumption; corruption is a major problem; some
  money-laundering activity

Hong Kong
  despite strenuous law enforcement efforts, faces difficult
  challenges in controlling transit of heroin and methamphetamine to
  regional and world markets; modern banking system provides conduit
  for money laundering; rising indigenous use of synthetic drugs,
  especially among young people

Hungary
  transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and cannabis
  and for South American cocaine destined for Western Europe; limited
  producer of precursor chemicals, particularly for amphetamine and
  methamphetamine; efforts to counter money laundering, related to
  organized crime and drug trafficking, are improving, but remain
  vulnerable; significant consumer of ecstasy

India
  world's largest producer of licit opium for the pharmaceutical
  trade, but an undetermined quantity of opium is diverted to illicit
  international drug markets; transit point for illicit narcotics
  produced in neighboring countries and throughout Southwest Asia;
  illicit producer of methaqualone; vulnerable to narcotics money
  laundering through the hawala system; licit ketamine and precursor
  production

Indonesia
  illicit producer of cannabis largely for domestic use;
  producer of methamphetamine and ecstasy

Iran
  despite substantial interdiction efforts and considerable
  control measures along the border with Afghanistan, Iran remains one
  of the primary transshipment routes for Southwest Asian heroin to
  Europe; suffers one of the highest opiate addiction rates in the
  world, and has an increasing problem with synthetic drugs; lacks
  anti-money laundering laws; has reached out to neighboring countries
  to share counter-drug intelligence

Ireland
  transshipment point for and consumer of hashish from North
  Africa to the UK and Netherlands and of European-produced synthetic
  drugs; increasing consumption of South American cocaine; minor
  transshipment point for heroin and cocaine destined for Western
  Europe; despite recent legislation, narcotics-related money
  laundering - using bureaux de change, trusts, and shell companies
  involving the offshore financial community - remains a concern

Israel
  increasingly concerned about ecstasy, cocaine, and heroin
  abuse; drugs arrive in country from Lebanon and, increasingly, from
  Jordan; money-laundering center

Italy
  important gateway for and consumer of Latin American cocaine
  and Southwest Asian heroin entering the European market; money
  laundering by organized crime and from smuggling

Jamaica
  transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North
  America and Europe; illicit cultivation and consumption of cannabis;
  government has an active manual cannabis eradication program;
  corruption is a major concern; substantial money-laundering
  activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Jamaica for illicit
  financial transactions

Kazakhstan
  significant illicit cultivation of cannabis for CIS
  markets, as well as limited cultivation of opium poppy and ephedra
  (for the drug ephedrine); limited government eradication of illicit
  crops; transit point for Southwest Asian narcotics bound for Russia
  and the rest of Europe; significant consumer of opiates

Kenya
  widespread harvesting of small plots of marijuana; transit
  country for South Asian heroin destined for Europe and North
  America; Indian methaqualone also transits on way to South Africa;
  significant potential for money-laundering activity given the
  country's status as a regional financial center; massive corruption,
  and relatively high levels of narcotics-associated activities

Korea, North
  for years, from the 1970s into the 2000s, citizens of
  the Democratic People's Republic of (North) Korea (DPRK), many of
  them diplomatic employees of the government, were apprehended abroad
  while trafficking in narcotics, including two in Turkey in December
  2004; police investigations in Taiwan and Japan in recent years have
  linked North Korea to large illicit shipments of heroin and
  methamphetamine, including an attempt by the North Korean merchant
  ship Pong Su to deliver 150 kg of heroin to Australia in April 2003

Kyrgyzstan
  limited illicit cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy
  for CIS markets; limited government eradication of illicit crops;
  transit point for Southwest Asian narcotics bound for Russia and the
  rest of Europe; major consumer of opiates

Laos
  estimated opium poppy cultivation in 2008 was 1,900 hectares,
  about a 73% increase from 2007; estimated potential opium production
  in 2008 more than tripled to 17 metric tons; unsubstantiated reports
  of domestic methamphetamine production; growing domestic
  methamphetamine problem (2007)

Latvia
  transshipment and destination point for cocaine, synthetic
  drugs, opiates, and cannabis from Southwest Asia, Western Europe,
  Latin America, and neighboring Balkan countries; despite improved
  legislation, vulnerable to money laundering due to nascent
  enforcement capabilities and comparatively weak regulation of
  offshore companies and the gaming industry; CIS organized crime
  (including counterfeiting, corruption, extortion, stolen cars, and
  prostitution) accounts for most laundered proceeds

Lebanon
  cannabis cultivation dramatically reduced to 2,500 hectares
  in 2002 despite continued significant