Trump welcomes Modi's opium crackdown as India remains on US drug list
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday praised India's efforts to tackle illicit opium cultivation and strengthen supply-chain controls, signalling continued cooperation between Washington and New Delhi on counter-narcotics efforts.
"I welcome Prime Minister Modi and the Government of India's efforts to address illicit opium poppy cultivation and bolster supply chain integrity," the US State Department said in a statement.
It added that Washington looks forward to continued cooperation with India under the United States-India Drug Policy Framework.
India on US list of major drug-producing, transit countries
India is among the countries included in the US list of major illicit drug-producing or drug-transit countries for 2027.
The list also includes Afghanistan, China, Colombia, Mexico, Pakistan and Venezuela, among others. The presidential determination was submitted to Congress on September 15, 2026.
However, the US designation does not by itself mean that a country has failed to combat illegal drugs.
US law allows countries to be included because geographic, commercial and economic factors make them potential production or transit hubs, even when their governments maintain active counternarcotics programmes.
Trump highlights drug trafficking crackdown
Trump, meanwhile, highlighted what he described as "historic progress" by his administration in tackling drug trafficking and narcoterrorist organisations.
The White House has cited tighter border controls, falling fentanyl trafficking and declining overdose deaths as indicators of progress.
According to White House figures, fentanyl-related deaths fell 22 per cent from 2024 to 2025, while total drug overdose deaths declined 14 per cent over the same period.
Trump also said drug seizures along the US southern border had fallen by more than half following what he described as years of "open border chaos".
Trump warns narcoterrorists of US action
Trump said narcoterrorist organisations responsible for drug trafficking were either dead, imprisoned or facing the prospect of US justice.
He further said the US military had been "unleashed" to strike narcoterrorists if they threaten the United States.
The US President also pointed to what he described as record drug seizures and increased extraditions of cartel leaders by allied countries.
"We have inflicted unprecedented losses on our enemies, and we are just getting started," Trump said.
The White House has separately said fentanyl trafficking at the southern border fell 56 per cent and fentanyl-linked deaths declined 22 per cent in a single year.
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
Support objective journalism for a small contribution.
