​​​​​​​​​​​​​New US strategy to combat Captagon, Damascus government

The US State Department revealed its new strategy to combat drugs and the Captagon industry linked to the Damascus government, and to dismantle it, through 4 axes, first, diplomatic and intelligence support for law enforcement investigations, second, the use of economic sanctions and other financial tools to target the Assad regime’s smuggling networks, third, foreign assistance and training for partner countries and cooperation within multilateral institutions to build counter-narcotics capacity, and fourth, diplomatic engagements and public messaging to put pressure on the Assad regime.

The strategy focuses, according to the US State Department website, on disrupting criminal networks involved in the Captagon trade. There is a secret axis to provide additional details about how US efforts affect Captagon destinations and transit countries, and assess the ability of these countries to combat drugs.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Captagon smuggling network operates across 17 countries, from Italy to Malaysia.

Sh-S

ANHA