Trump attributes Venezuela’s removal from the non-compliance category to renewed security cooperation with Caracas
US President Trump says his administration has made “historic progress” in protecting American people from deadly drugs and narcoterrorist groups. Reuters
United States President Donald Trump retained 23 countries on an annual list of major drug-transit or illicit drug-producing nations while removing Venezuela from Washington’s list of countries deemed to have “failed demonstrably” to meet international counternarcotics obligations, TRT World reported on Wednesday.
The presidential determination submitted to Congress named Afghanistan, The Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Burma, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Peru and Venezuela as major drug-transit or illicit drug-producing countries.
Read: The mosaic of drug trafficking and its consequences
Trump attributed Venezuela’s removal from the non-compliance category to renewed security cooperation with Caracas and measures targeting transnational criminal groups, including the Tren de Aragua network.
Trump names China, India, Pakistan and 20 other countries as “major drug-transit and illicit drug-producing” nations while removing Venezuela from non-compliance list citing “positive steps” from post-Maduro interim government https://t.co/Mf2G1HumEG
— TRT World (@trtworld) September 16, 2026
Afghanistan, Bolivia, Burma and Colombia, however, were designated as having “failed demonstrably” over the past 12 months to make substantial efforts to meet their international counternarcotics obligations.
The review cited persistent illicit coca cultivation and institutional challenges in Bolivia, while expressing hope that Colombia’s pledged eradication efforts could lead to progress over the coming year.
India was praised for efforts to curb illicit opium poppy cultivation and strengthen supply-chain controls under the US-India Drug Policy Framework.
US | Presidential Determination on Major Drug Transit or Major Illicit Drug Producing Countries for Fiscal Year 2027. The Determination was submitted to Congress on September 15.
“…I welcome Prime Minister Modi and the Government of India’s efforts to address illicit opium… pic.twitter.com/HRaHMPbLlw
— ANI (@ANI) September 16, 2026
Trump also criticised Myanmar and Afghanistan over continued opium cultivation and synthetic drug production, while calling on Canada and Mexico to intensify efforts against cross-border trafficking and organised criminal networks.
There was no immediate reaction from the countries named in the determination.
