Beyond these consultations, the member states of the EU also discussed the adoption of targeted sanctions against several military officials suspected of threatening peace, security or stability and accused of being involved in drug-trafficking. The adoption of sanctions was postponed, however, under pressure from Portugal, Guinea-Bissau's former colonial power. Prior to this decision, the government of Guinea-Bissau had issued a statement expressing its surprise at the EU's plan for targeted sanctions and warning that such a course of action could lead to political and social instability in the country. The navy chief, Rear-Admiral José Américo Bubo Na Tchuto-who was rumoured to be among the potential targets-dismissed the accusations of his involvement in drug-trafficking as lies and challenged the EU to prove the allegations. Admiral Na Tchuto's assets in the US have already been frozen, after he was labelled a "drug kingpin" in April 2010 by the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (July 2010, The political scene). The role played by senior military officers in drug-trafficking remains a key concern, following accusations that Guinea-Bissau has been transformed into a "narco-state" in recent years. Most recently, three military officers and a police officer were arrested at a military camp in November in possession of cocaine. As in previous cases, however, their fate has remained unclear and the capacity of the country's justice system to investigate the involvement of civilian and military officials in drug-trafficking has proven limited (January 2011, The political scene).