[…] Il Procuratore Generale Michael B. Mukasey ha annunciato oggi l’arresto di 175 presunti affiliati ad un cartello per il traffico internazionale di droga in un’operazione congiunta condotta tra il 16 settembre ed oggi da centinaia di agenti internazionali, federali, statali e locali, tra Stati Uniti e Italia. L’operazione è il frutto di un’indagine di lungo termine su uno dei più grandi cartelli messicani per il traffico di droga e sulla sua rete di distribuzione negli Stati Uniti e nel resto del mondo, che ad oggi ha portato all’arresto di più di 500 persone tra Stati Uniti, Messico e Italia.

[…] The narcotics problem in Afghanistan is stabilizing, but considerable challenges remain in areas of the country where security is a problem. In the northern and central provinces the number of poppy-free provinces rose from 13 to 18 suggesting that where there is security and good governance counternarcotics policies are effective. In the south and west of the country cultivation is a continuing cause for concern as the lack of security and political will hinder progress.

[…] U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd, the chairman of a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on Western Hemisphere affairs, praised the bill's passage. "I am confident that this language will be acceptable to both the American and Mexican governments. The United States and Mexico must continue to work together to tackle our common security challenges and reduce drug trafficking and violence on both sides of our border."

[…] During a May 21 briefing from Kabul, Afghanistan, McNeill also emphasized that the Afghan national army has demonstrated growth and success in security operations. "By about 2011, there is going to be some pretty good capacity in the Afghan national army," he said.
And he said that with continued international support, the army soon should be able to take more of a lead in operations and development.

[…] A member of an Afghan Taliban cell was convicted today by a jury in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on charges of narcotics distribution and narco-terrorism, Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division Alice S. Fisher announced. The conviction represents the first time a defendant has been convicted in U.S. federal court of narco-terrorism since the statute was enacted in March 2006.

[…] The poor farmers in Afghanistan’s mountainous North and East who grew poppy two to three years ago have now mostly stopped, as security, governance and development opportunities have improved in these areas. In the South, where most of the poppy is now grown, cultivation is organized by wealthy traffickers and big landowners who plant poppy because of high profits and the absence of law enforcement in insecure areas.

[…] The world is growing more aware that no country or society is immune from the social, economic and political damage caused by international drug trafficking, a U.S. government representative said during the release of the 2008 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report.

[…] This year marks the 25th anniversary of the first such report issued by the Bureau. To mark this milestone, I would like to take a moment to discuss some of the more significant improvements regarding international drug control cooperation over this two-and-a-half decade period.

[…] MS. MCCAMPBELL: Good morning, everyone. It's a pleasure to be here. Again, I'm Christy McCampbell and I'm the Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs here at Department of State. I think as all of you know, each time at this part of the year, the President designates what we call the Majors list of illegal drug transit and drug producing countries. I really appreciate the opportunity to talk with you about this this morning.

[…] “The drug trade and the Taliban insurgency are connected intrinsically, and they share a common interest in resisting Afghan government authority and international forces,” Kim Howells, minister of state for the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, said June 26 at the Foreign Press Center in Washington. Howells was accompanied by John Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

[…] Molly Millerwise, the Treasury Department’s public affairs director, told USINFO May 15 that her agency’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, in partnership with the U.S. departments of State, Justice and Homeland Security, is denying drug lords and their businesses access to the U.S. financial sector. The disruption of the Colombian drug cartels, she said, is part of overall U.S. success in toppling the financial empires of drug cartels worldwide.