The Bahamas has been included on the US Presidential Determination on Major Drug Transit or Major Illicit Drug Producing Countries for Fiscal Year 2026.

This is not the first time The Bahamas has been included on the list. In response Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Fred Mitchell’s only comment on the issue was that the United States is one of the major drug consuming nations.

During hearings on Capital Hill in Washington D.C., US Ambassador to The Bahamas nominee, Herschel Walker said the lack of an ambassador in The Bahamas has made the country vulnerable to drugs and human trafficking. Walker said, “I feel that that’s the most important thing to make all the law enforcement feel that they’re important. I think they’ve gotten so much negative that now I’d love to make them know that they’re important, that they’re the reason why and I can build a championship team if we’re all working together and I can commit to that I can get them to know how important that they will be in The Bahamas and getting things done.”

Minister of National Security, the Hon. Wayne Munroe told reporters that the main driver of the rise is cocaine trafficking is the policy of the Columbian government to stop the destruction of coca fields. He said, “so cocaine production has gone up in South America so therefore the amount of it flowing north would increase. That’s a problem not only for us that’s a problem for everyone.”