President Donald Trump walks toward Marine One on the Ellipse Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, near the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert) | Photo credit: Allison Robbert
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (September 16, 2026) hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to curb illicit poppy cultivation even as he named India, China and Pakistan among the top 23 drug transit and illicit drug producing countries, and urged their respective leaders to address the issue.
In a presidential determination to the US Congress, Mr Trump said he looked forward to continued cooperation under the US-India Drug Policy Framework.
“I welcome the efforts of Prime Minister Modi and the Government of India to combat illicit opium poppy cultivation and strengthen the integrity of the supply chain,” he said in an official directive released on Wednesday (September 16, 2026).
Mr. Trump also made it clear that being listed as major drug transit countries and illicit drug-producing countries is not necessarily a reflection of the relevant government’s current anti-drug efforts or coordination with the United States.
The executive order states that countries are included on the list, as required by U.S. law, because of a combination of geographic, commercial and economic factors that allow drugs or precursor chemicals to move or be produced even if the government has adopted strict and thorough drug control and law enforcement measures.
Other identified major drug transit countries or major illicit drug producing countries are Afghanistan, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Burma, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru and Venezuela.
Mr Trump also highlighted the “historic progress” his administration has made in the fight against drug trafficking and narco-terrorist organizations. He pointed to tighter border security, fewer drug seizures and a decline in overdose deaths as evidence of progress.
Mr Trump said drug seizures along the US southern border had fallen by more than half after what he called four years of “chaos on an open border”. He also said drug overdose deaths have “fallen sharply” and said the administration has saved tens of thousands of American lives.
“After four years of chaos at open borders, seizures of fentanyl and other drugs smuggled into the United States have dropped by more than half, and drug overdose deaths have plummeted,” Mr. Trump said.
He called on China to take stronger action to stop the flow of precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl, methamphetamine and other synthetic drugs. “The People’s Republic of China continues to be the world’s largest producer of many of the precursor chemicals used in the illicit production of fentanyl, methamphetamine and other deadly synthetic drugs,” Mr. Trump said, referring to China by its official name, the People’s Republic of China.
Mr. Trump said he had raised the issue directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping and noted that Beijing last year introduced licensing requirements for companies exporting certain precursor chemicals to North America.
Published – September 17, 2026 03:36 EST.