US presidential candidates should discuss international issues raised by CIA

While mainstream media and presidential candidates are focusing on emails, sexual assault, immigration, and ISIS, they are ignoring major concerns the United States of America faces internationally dealing with Canada, Columbia, Mexico, Russia, The Bahamas, Cuba, Haiti, and The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

According to the Central Intelligence Agency, "the U.S. has intensified domestic security measures and is collaborating closely with its neighbors, Canada and Mexico, to monitor and control legal and illegal personnel, transport, and commodities across the international borders; abundant rainfall in recent years along much of the Mexico-US border region has ameliorated periodically strained water-sharing arrangements.

"Canada and the United States dispute how to divide the Beaufort Sea and the status of the Northwest Passage but continue to work cooperatively to survey the Arctic continental shelf."

Columbia still supplies the most illicit drugs to the US, including heroin and cocaine. The US is "the world's largest consumer of cocaine (shipped from Colombia through Mexico and the Caribbean), Colombian heroin, and Mexican heroin and marijuana; major consumer of ecstasy and Mexican methamphetamine; minor consumer of high-quality Southeast Asian heroin; illicit producer of cannabis, marijuana, depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens, and methamphetamine; money-laundering center.

"The US admitted 84,995 refugees during FY2016 including 16,370 (Democratic Republic of the Congo); 12,587 (Syria); 12,347 (Burma); 9,880 (Iraq); 9,020 (Somalia); 5,817 (Bhutan); and 3,750 (Iran).

"The Bahamas and US have not been able to agree on a maritime boundary; US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased from Cuba and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease; Haiti claims US-administered Navassa Island; US has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other states; Marshall Islands claims Wake Island; Tokelau included American Samoa's Swains Island among the islands listed in its 2006 draft constitution.

"1990 Maritime Boundary Agreement in the Bering Sea still awaits Russian Duma ratification."

For more information on the CIA's reporting on the United States, go to: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html