In one of his final public statements, outgoing National Security Adviser General James Jones delivered a speech in Russia earlier this month about transnational security challenges facing decision-makers in both Moscow and Washington.

Among the threats he explored in his October 5th speech in Sochi, Russia was the “global drug trade,” which he noted “is now expanding to criminal groups in countries like Russia, China, Italy and the Balkans – countries that had not previously been victimized by narcotics trafficking. Opium and heroin trafficked from Afghanistan funds the Taliban as well as insurgents and criminal groups in Central Asia, the Caucasus and Russia. And the consequences are heartbreaking for families and communities as these illicit activities can be accompanied by unspeakable violence.”