WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States has charged Bolivia and Venezuela with failing to do enough to fight the drug trade, but said it would continue aid to the two countries, both led by critics of US foreign policy.
In an annual report, the United States said Bolivia — the world’s third-largest cocaine producer — Venezuela and Myanmar had all “failed demonstrably” to meet their counter-narcotics obligations.
The same three countries last year were cited on the list, which allows the president to cut off US aid other than counter-narcotics and humanitarian funds.
But the US statement, released late on Tuesday by the State Department, said the White House had once again issued a national interest waiver to continue certain bilateral aid programs in the two South American countries.
“In Venezuela, funds will continue to support civil society programmes and small community development programmes. In Bolivia, the waiver will permit continued support for agricultural development, exchange programmes, small enterprise development, and police training programmes,” the statement said.
Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez and Bolivia’s President Evo Morales are persistent critics of US foreign policy in the region, and particularly a plan by US ally Colombia to give US troops more access to its military bases for joint operations against drug traffickers and leftist rebels.
It did not give any similar detail for Myanmar.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday that Washington was concerned by what she said was Venezuela’s growing number of arms purchases, saying they could spark a regional arms race.
Along with the three countries identified as the worst offenders, the US list named 17 others as major production or transit centres for illegal drugs: Afghanistan, the Bahamas, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru.
