*Source: DTN News
(NSI News Source Info) BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau - July 6, 2009: People gather around a speedboat believed to be used by drug traffickers in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau.Drawn by its vast coastline, limited law enforcement capacity and weak governance, Latin American drug traffickers in recent years have turned West Africa into a major transshipment point for cocaine and other illegal drugs. 
People gather around a speedboat of a type believed to be used by drug traffickers, as it unloads cargo at a quay in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau. Cocaine trafficking could become the biggest source of income in impoverished Guinea-Bissau, dwarfing all other economic sectors combined, a top U.N official said, adding the influx of drug money could destabilize the coup-prone West African country.
It's estimated that 60% of the cocaine sold in Europe now passes through nations such as Guinea-Bissau, Togo, Ghana and Senegal. That's an alarming trend for both international counternarcotics efforts and the stability of the countries affected.
The United States is coordinating the work of 3 government departments to work with nations in the region and other international partners to confront the problem, which in the near term is expected to get worse before it gets better.
Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson told Congress recently that the U.S. State, Justice and Defense Departments are united in their understanding of the threat drug trafficking poses not only to the nations of West Africa, but to U.S. interests as well.
Guinea has had only two presidents since gaining its independence from France in 1958. Lansana CONTE came to power in 1984 when the military seized the government after the death of the first president, Sekou TOURE. Guinea did not hold democratic elections until 1993 when Gen. CONTE (head of the military government) was elected president of the civilian government. He was reelected in 1998 and again in 2003. Unrest in Sierra Leone and Liberia has spilled over into Guinea on several occasions over the past decade, threatening stability and creating humanitarian emergencies. In 2006, declining economic conditions prompted two massive strikes that sparked urban unrest in many Guinean cities.
The problem is not isolated to West Africa alone. Kenya and Ethiopia have become major transshipment routes for heroin coming out of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The impact this has is seen in crime and corruption in the affected countries and ultimately an increase in drug use by people in the transshipment points.
The U.S. is working with the European Commission and United Nations to help nations in the region, with intelligence gathering, maritime patrol and assistance in the criminal justice sector. Ghana, Togo, and Sierra Leone have already demonstrated willingness to working closely with the U.S. and other countries have expressed interest.
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