Illicit drugs:
opium poppy in Federally Administered Tribal Areas, North-West
Frontier Province, and Balochistan Province has rebounded since it
was nearly eliminated in 2001; key transit point for Afghan drugs,
including heroin, opium, morphine, and hashish, bound for Western
markets, the Gulf States, and Africa; financial crimes related to
drug trafficking, terrorism, corruption, and smuggling remain
problems
This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005
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@Palau
Introduction Palau
Background:
After three decades as part of the UN Trust Territory of the
Pacific under US administration, this westernmost cluster of the
Caroline Islands opted for independence in 1978 rather than join the
Federated States of Micronesia. A Compact of Free Association with
the US was approved in 1986, but not ratified until 1993. It entered
into force the following year, when the islands gained independence.
Geography Palau
Location:
Oceania, group of islands in the North Pacific Ocean, southeast of
the Philippines
Geographic coordinates:
7 30 N, 134 30 E
Map references:
Oceania