VOA常速英语2008年-US Report Faults Anti-Drug Efforts of Venezuela

By David Gollust
State Department
29 February 2008

A U.S. State Department report Friday said Colombia and Afghanistan remain the world's biggest producers of illicit¹ cocaine² and opium³. The annual report faults Venezuela and Burma for inadequate⁴ efforts over the past year to try to tackle the drug problem. VOA's David Gollust has details from the State Department.

The massive two-volume report, mandated⁶ by Congress, identifies 20 countries in Latin America, Asia, and Africa as major illicit drug-producing or drug-transit⁷ countries.

But it praises several of them for efforts to combat the problem, notably⁸ Colombia and Afghanistan. It says only Venezuela and Burma have "failed demonstrably" to fulfill⁹ international commitments to fight the drug trade.

Introducing the report, Assistant Secretary of State for Narcotics¹⁰ and Law Enforcement David Johnson said while Colombia is the source of 90 per cent of the cocaine reaching the United States, the Bogota government is making "notable progress" against narco-terrorists who only recently threatened the country's stability.

Similarly, Johnson praised the Mexican government of President Felipe Calderon for what he termed "decisive actions" to combat increasingly violent Mexican drug gangs operating on both side of the U.S.-Mexican border.

"We have a partner that has made clear that it wants to work with the United States," said Johnson. "President Calderon has made some real steps that were tough for him to make in order to confront organized crime within his country. And we want to work with the government of Mexico because we think we can make significantly more progress by working together, and we actually think we face a common threat here."

Johnson said nearly all the cocaine that reaches the United States from South America passes through Mexico and Central America.

In a relatively¹¹ new trend, he said cocaine moving through Venezuela is reaching European markets via west African transit points - notably according to the report, Guinea-Bissau.

Johnson declined to accuse the Venezuelan government of President Hugo Chavez of complicity with traffickers but said that government is providing "no real cooperation" with the United States.

"When we observe the trafficking from Venezuela both north into North America - the United States and Canada - as well as to Europe, we don't see significant measures, or any real measures, taken to counter that," said Johnson. "And that's obviously of great concern to us. It's of great concern to the countries in the Caribbean, which are the intermediate stops for significant parts of this transit, and we're troubled by that."

The report's listing of Venezuela and Burma as failures in the drug fight would mandate⁵ a cut-off of U.S. aid to those countries. But in the case of Venezuela, President Bush has issued a waiver allowing continued U.S. funding for programs supporting civil society, and what are termed "beleaguered¹² democratic institutions" there.

There is no direct U.S. aid to Burma, said to be Asia's largest source of methamphetamine pills. The report says Burma's record against illegal drug producers and traffickers is inconsistent.

1 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

2 cocaine   

n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂）

参考例句：

• That young man is a cocaine addict.那个年轻人吸食可卡因成瘾。
• Don't have cocaine abusively.不可滥服古柯碱。

3 opium   

n.鸦片；adj.鸦片的

参考例句：

• That man gave her a dose of opium.那男人给了她一剂鸦片。
• Opium is classed under the head of narcotic.鸦片是归入麻醉剂一类的东西。

4 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

5 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

6 mandated   

adj. 委托统治的

参考例句：

• Mandated desegregation of public schools. 命令解除公立学校中的种族隔离
• Britain was mandated to govern the former colony of German East Africa. 英国受权代管德国在东非的前殖民地。

7 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

8 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

9 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

10 narcotics   

n.麻醉药( narcotic的名词复数 )；毒品；毒

参考例句：

• The use of narcotics by teenagers is a problem in many countries. 青少年服用麻醉药在许多国家中都是一个问题。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Police shook down the club, looking for narcotics. 警方彻底搜查了这个俱乐部，寻找麻醉品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

12 beleaguered   

adj.受到围困[围攻]的；包围的v.围攻( beleaguer的过去式和过去分词)；困扰；骚扰

参考例句：

• The beleaguered party leader was forced to resign. 那位饱受指责的政党领导人被迫辞职。
• We are beleaguered by problems. 我们被许多困难所困扰。 来自《简明英汉词典》