Illicit drugs:
opium poppy cultivation declined 58% to 3,147 hectares in 2005;
federal and provincial authorities continue to conduct anti-poppy
campaigns that force eradication - fines and arrests will take place
if the ban on poppy cultivation is not observed; 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 8 February, 2007
======================================================================
@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