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NATO Flexes Muscle to Protect Vilnius Summit near Russia, Belarus

German Patriot air defense system units are seen at the Vilnius airport in Vilnius, Lithuania July 7, 2023. (Reuters)
German Patriot air defense system units are seen at the Vilnius airport in Vilnius, Lithuania July 7, 2023. (Reuters)
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NATO Flexes Muscle to Protect Vilnius Summit near Russia, Belarus

German Patriot air defense system units are seen at the Vilnius airport in Vilnius, Lithuania July 7, 2023. (Reuters)
German Patriot air defense system units are seen at the Vilnius airport in Vilnius, Lithuania July 7, 2023. (Reuters)

NATO has turned Vilnius into a fortress defended by advanced weaponry to protect US President Joe Biden and other alliance leaders meeting next week only 32 km (20 miles) from Lithuania's razor-wire topped border fence with Russian ally Belarus.

Sixteen NATO allies have sent a total of about 1,000 troops to safeguard the July 11-12 summit, which will take place only 151 km (94 miles) from Russia itself. Many are also providing advanced air defense systems which the Baltic states lack.

"It would be more than irresponsible to have our sky unprotected as Biden and leaders of 40 countries are arriving," Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said.

The Baltic countries of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, once under Moscow's rule but part of both NATO and the European Union since 2004, all spend above 2% of their economies on defense, a larger share than most other NATO allies.

But for the region with total population of about 6 million people, this is not enough to sustain large militaries, invest in their own fighter jets or advanced air defense.

Germany deployed 12 Patriot missile launchers, used to intercept ballistic and cruise missiles or warplanes.

Spain has brought a NASAMS air defense system, France is sending Caesar self-propelled howitzers, France, Finland, and Denmark are basing military jets in Lithuania, and the United Kingdom and France are supplying anti-drone capabilities.

Poland and Germany sent helicopter-enhanced special operations forces. Others are sending equipment to deal with any potential chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attacks.

For Nauseda, the allied effort to ensure air safety during the leader's gathering means NATO needs to urgently set up permanent air defenses in the Baltic states.

"We think about what happens after the summit ends, and we will work with allies to create a rotating force for a permanent air protection," he told reporters.

No 'guts'

At villages next to the Belarus border, locals told Reuters they feel totally safe, despite the Russian ally's offer to accommodate Russia's private Wagner militia and its hosting of Russian nuclear weapons.

"Do you think Wagner or Belarus could attack Lithuania, which is in NATO? They don't have the guts. NATO is NATO, and we feel ourselves safe because we are in NATO. Why would we fear those Belarussians?" said Edvard Rynkun, 67, in Kaniukai, a village 1 km (less than a mile) from Belarus.

"If Lithuania was alone, I would feel differently," he added. "If not for the NATO membership, things here could already be same as in Ukraine," said Elena Tarasevic, 55, Rynkun's neighbor.

At Vilnius airport, eight German-operated Patriot missile launchers were seen standing with their nozzles pointed in the direction of Russia's Kaliningrad. Two more pointed towards Belarus. All of the launchers were operational since Friday morning.

"You know where you are situated geographically, and you know pretty well where the threat is coming from," said Lt Col Steffen Lieb, commander of the Patriot deployment.

"Lithuania asked us for protection of the summit, and also NATO asked Germany for help. This is our answer," he added.

Tripled

Lithuania has tripled the deployment of border guards at the Belarus and Russian borders for the summer, augmented by officers from Latvia and Poland. The two countries have also sent police to help patrol Vilnius.

"We are preparing for various provocations," border guard chief Rustamas Liubajevas said. He added that he feared waves of migrants at the border, or border violations, or military vehicles appearing at the border without explanation.

Thousands of Middle Eastern migrants have crossed at the Belarus border in 2021, in an effort Lithuania and the European Union said was orchestrated by Minsk, a charge it denies. The numbers have since subsided.

"The situation is really very tense, because of aggression of Russia against Ukraine. So the (border protection) was already on a very, very high level (before the summit)," said Liubajevas.

Border checks on Lithuania's European Union borders with Poland and Latvia were reintroduced for the summit.

The mayor of Vilnius has suggested citizens go on holiday outside the city if they want to avoid disruption, as large parts of central Vilnius will be closed off for the summit.

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What Has Assad’s Fall Revealed about the Captagon Drug Trade in Syria?

A Syrian member of the opposition shows amphetamine pills known as Captagon hidden inside an electrical component at a warehouse where the drug was manufactured before the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government at a facility in Douma city, outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)
A Syrian member of the opposition shows amphetamine pills known as Captagon hidden inside an electrical component at a warehouse where the drug was manufactured before the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government at a facility in Douma city, outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)
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What Has Assad’s Fall Revealed about the Captagon Drug Trade in Syria?

A Syrian member of the opposition shows amphetamine pills known as Captagon hidden inside an electrical component at a warehouse where the drug was manufactured before the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government at a facility in Douma city, outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)
A Syrian member of the opposition shows amphetamine pills known as Captagon hidden inside an electrical component at a warehouse where the drug was manufactured before the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government at a facility in Douma city, outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)

Since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, industrial-scale manufacturing facilities of Captagon have been uncovered around the country, which experts say helped flourish a $10 billion annual global trade in the highly addictive drug.

Among the locations used for manufacturing the drug were the Mazzeh air base in Damascus, a car-trading company in Latakia and a former potato chips factory on the outskirts of Damascus.

The factory that once produced the crunchy snack in the suburb of Douma under the name, Captain Corn, was seized by government forces in 2018.

"Assad’s collaborators controlled this place. After the regime fell... I came here and found it on fire," Firas al-Toot, the original owner of the factory, told The Associated Press. "They came at night and lit the drugs on fire but couldn’t burn everything."

"From here, Captagon pills emerged to kill our people," said Abu Zihab, an activist with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the main group now ruling the country, as his group gave access to journalists to the site.

Syria's nearly 14-year-old civil war fragmented the country, crumbled the economy and created fertile ground for the production of the drug. Militias, warlords and the Assad government transformed Captagon from a small-scale operation run by small criminal groups into a billion-dollar industrial revenue stream.

The recent ousting of Assad has disrupted these networks and has given a closer look at its operations — revealing the workings of a war economy that sustained Assad’s power over Syria. Experts say the change in Syria might create an opportunity to dismantle the Captagon industry.

How did Syria build its Captagon empire?

Captagon was first developed in Germany in the 1960s as a prescription stimulant for conditions like narcolepsy. It was later outlawed due to heart issues and its addictive properties.

Its amphetamine-like effects made it popular in the Middle East among both elites and fighters, as it enhanced focus and reduced fatigue.

Assad's government recognized an opportunity in the cheaply manufactured drug amid Syria’s economic turmoil and the heavy sanctions imposed on it.

Captagon is produced through a simple chemical process that involves mixing amphetamine derivatives with excipients to form tablets, typically in makeshift labs.

The Captagon trade began industrializing around 2018-2019 as the Assad regime — and other armed groups in Syria -- invested in production facilities, warehouses and trafficking networks. This allowed Syria to emerge as the largest producer of Captagon globally, with some production also occurring in Lebanon.

Most seized consignments of Captagon originated from Syria, according to data by the New Lines Captagon Trade Project, an initiative of the New Lines Institute think tank.

Evidence of the Assad regime’s sponsorship of the Captagon industry is overwhelming, the report published in May said. The Security Office of the 4th Armored Division of the Syrian Arab Army, headed by Bashar al-Assad’s brother Maher oversaw operations and created a coordinated production system, the report added.

Where and how was Captagon smuggled?

Captagon was smuggled across the border using various methods, hiding Captagon in trucks, cargo shipments and goods. Some shipments are concealed in food, electronics and construction materials to evade detection.

The primary smuggling routes were Syria’s porous borders with Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, from which the drug is distributed throughout the region. Some were also shipped from Latakia port.

In Lebanon, the Captagon trade has flourished, particularly near the Syrian border and in the Bekaa Valley. Lebanese authorities struggled to curb the flow of Captagon from Syria, which analysts say was facilitated by the Hezbollah group, a key Assad ally.

Following the discovery of crates of fruit meticulously packed with bundles of the drug hidden among pomegranates and oranges, Saudi Arabia and the UAE implemented bans on Lebanese agricultural products.

Captagon has also found its way into international markets, reaching as far as Southeast Asia and parts of Europe.

How much revenue did it produce for the Assad regime?

The annual global trade in Captagon has an estimated value of $10 billion, with the ousted Assad family's annual profit reaching around $2.4 billion, according to Caroline Rose, director of the New York-based New Lines Institute Captagon Trade Project.

"Seeing the uncovering of so many industrial-scale facilities affiliated with the regime was shocking but not surprising. There was extensive evidence linking key regime-aligned cronies and Assad family members to the trade," said Rose, whose organization tracks all publicly recorded Captagon seizures and lab raids. The discovery of the facilities, she said, confirmed "the concrete relationship between Captagon and the former regime."

The exact number of factories in Syria remains unclear, but experts and HTS members estimate that there are likely hundreds spread throughout the country.

The future of Captagon in post-Assad Syria

Assad has turned Syria into "the largest Captagon factory in the world," HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharaa stated in a victory speech at Damascus’s Umayyad Mosque on Dec. 8. "Today, Syria is being cleansed, thanks to the grace of Almighty God."

While Assad and his circle may have been the primary beneficiaries, there is also evidence that Syrian opposition groups were involved in drug smuggling, opposition groups, local militias and organized crime networks manufactured and smuggled the drug to finance their operations, analysts say.

"Likely, we will see a short-term supply reduction in the trade, with a decline in the size and frequency of seizures as industrial-scale production is largely halted. However, criminal actors are innovative, likely seeking out new locations to engage in production and smuggling, particularly as demand levels remain stable," Rose said.

They may also "seek out alternative illicit trades to engage in instead," she said.

In addition to dismantling the Captagon trade, the country's transitional government should "establish programs for economic development that will incentivize Syrians to participate in the country’s formal, licit economic sphere," Rose said.