Other Presidential Documents gether to fight production and trafficking of narcotics with great success for over three decades, and DEA considers its cooperation with Thailand to be one of its most successful overseas partnerships anywhere in the world. Venezuela By some estimates, over 100 metric tons of cocaine transit Venezuela an- nually en route to destinations in the United States and Europe. Venezuela is also a transit route for precursor chemicals used in the production of il- licit drugs in the Andean source countries, and its financial sector is a prime destination for laundering proceeds from Colombian cocaine traf- ficking organizations. Venezuelan law enforcement agencies had increased success in drug interdiction in 1999, particularly on land and at major ports. Cocaine sei- zures rose to \1773.\177 metric tons from 8.6 metric tons in \177998. This improve- ment reflects both the increase in drug transshipment through the country in \177999 and the high level of tactical cooperation between Venezuelan and U.S. law enforcement agencies. The Government of Venezuela (GOV) also augmented its efforts to interdict chemical precursors, after establishing in 1998 a set of regulations to track the diversion of chemicals used in drug production. Working closely in conjunction with DEA, Venezuelan law en- forcement officials seized over \1770 tons of potassium permanganate, a prime chemical used in the production of cocaine, and signed an agree- ment with the Government of Colombia to exchange information on chem- ical precursor movements. Corruption has traditionally hampered the effectiveness of Venezuela's law enforcement and judicial institutions. The GOV took concrete steps against corruption in \177999, initiating investigations of corrupt officials and overseeing the implementation of a new criminal code which has the po- tential to provide a more efficient, transparent system of justice. To consolidate these important advances, the GOV should take certain measures to improve its performance, specifically: pass needed anti-orga- nized crime legislation; reenter negotiations with the USG on a comprehen- sive maritime agreement; take the necessary steps to permit the extradition of Venezuelan nationals accused of drug-related crimes or organized crime activity; and continue to enhance and refine multilateral counter-drug interdiction cooperation. Vietnam As a national priority in Vietnam, the fight against illicit drugs is second only to poverty reduction. In \177999 Vietnam fought on two fronts: against the production and use of drugs as well as against cross-border trafficking of drugs. Vietnam, with 2A00 hectares under poppy cultivation and a po- tential of \177 metric tons of opium production, intensified efforts to eradi- cate poppy crops. Authorities also successfully eradicated 860 of an esti- mated total of %000 hectares used for cannabis cultivation in \177999. The Government of Vietnam (GOV) instituted an augmented prevention campaign to reduce domestic drug use and abuse. Also in 1999 Vietnam stiffened law-enforcement campaigns against drug traffickers and tough- ened prosecution to achieve a record number of arrests and convictions. Authorities prosecuted 3,3\1770 drug-related cases involving 4,952 defendants. Of cases brought to trial, 35 received a death sentence and 2\177 were sen- tenced to life imprisonment. A high-profile anti-corruption campaign was 383
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