A newly released US State Department strategy asserts that joint defence programmes in the region were key to success in curbing the Captagon drug trade.
This past week, the US Department of State released its Written Strategy to Disrupt and Dismantle Narcotics Production and Trafficking and Affiliated Networks Linked to the Regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
The strategy was outlined in accordance with an amendment that passed this December in the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, which stipulated the US establish an interagency strategy targeting the Syrian al-Assad regime’s sponsorship, profit, and leverage over the illicit drug trade, “Captagon,” and present this strategy to the US Congress after 180 days.
The written strategy debuted US interagency efforts to combat the Captagon trade along four lines of effort: diplomatic and intelligence assistance, sanctions and financial tools, bolstering partner capacity for interdiction, and accountability through diplomatic fora.
Read the full article in Al-Majalla.
