Title 3--The President evidence to refute claims by the Government of Vietnam that they have vir- tually eliminated opium poppy production. Additionally, although co- operation with United States law enforcement is limited, there are no indi- cations of a significant Vietnam-based drug threat to the United States. Despite the Government of Afghanistan's counternarcotics efforts, we re- main concerned about the disturbing magnitude of the drug trade and the prospect that opium poppy cultivation will likely increase in 2006. We are also concerned about government corruption, especially at the regional and local levels, impending counternarcotics efforts. For these efforts to be ef- fective, government corruption with respect to the opium economy must be seriously addressed--by both local and central government authorities. The Government of Canada has made real progress in curbing the diversion into the United States of pseudoephedrine, which fuels the production of methamphetamine. There are indications, however, that Canadian-based criminal groups are increasingly involved in the production of MDMA (Ec- stasy) destined for the United States. Large scale cross-border trafficking of Canadian-grown marijuana remains a serious concern. The United States appreciates the excellent law enforcement cooperation with Canada in com- bating these shared threats. While Haiti made efforts this year to improve its performance, we reiterate our concerns from last year about the Interim Government of Haiti's inabil- ity to effectively organize Haitian law enforcement resources to permit sus- tained counternarcotics efforts. Further, the national criminal justice system must be significantly strengthened in order to be effective and gain public confidence. The Government of The Netherlands has achieved considerable success in countering the production and flow of MDMA (Ecstasy) to the United States, and The Netherlands is commended for its enhanced efforts. In the coming year, the United States would like to build upon our law enforce- ment cooperation with the Dutch government through advancements in mutual legal assistance and direct engagement between our respective po- lice agencies. Drug trafficking, money laundering, and other organized criminal activity in Nigeria remain major sources of concern to the United States. Progress over the past year on anti-money laundering controls is welcome, but much remains to be done to make such controls effective. Implementing anti-cor- ruption policies must advance more quickly, as corruption at all levels of government continues to hamper effective narcotics law enforcement. In addition, measures similar to those taken to improve drug law enforcement at Nigeria's main airport need to be expanded to, and replicated at, Nige- ria's seaports, where drug trafficking is a growing concern. Finally, the Na- tional Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and other counternarcotics institutions should work towards developing the mindset and capacity to pursue investigations, and prosecutions of major drug traffickers based in the country. We remain concerned with the continued involvement by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in criminal activity, including drug pro- duction and drug trafficking. Given the close relationship between }apanese and Chinese criminal elements and DPRK drug traffickers in past smug- gling incidents, there is a real possibility of continuing DPRK involvement 266
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