VZCZCXYZ0000 RR RUEHWEB DE RUEHLP #1784/01 3512151 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 172150Z DEC 09 FM AMEMBASSY LA PAZ TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0260 INFO RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC RHMFISS/DIRJIATF SOUTH RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC RHMFISS/NATIONAL DRUG INTELLIGENCE CENTER JOHNSTOWN PA RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC RHMFIUU/DEPT OF STATE AIR WING PATRICK AFB FL RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHINGTON DC RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 0023 RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
UNCLAS LA PAZ 001784 SIPDIS STATE PASS TO CNC LINEAR WASHINGTON DC JIATF SOUTH FOR USCINCSO MIAMI FL//SCJ2/SCJ3/SCJ5/SCFA DEPT FOR INL, WHA/PPC, WHA/AND USAID FOR LAC/SA JUSTICE FOR OIA, AFMLA AND NDDS CUSTOMS FOR LA OPS, INTELLIGENCE DEA FOR OEL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SNAR BL KJUS PHUM SUBJECT: BOLIVIA: COUNTER-NARCOTICS NEWS AND TRENDS REF: LA PAZ 1589 ¶1. 1. Summary and comment: Bolivian Counternarcotics (CN) officials have voiced public concern over a number of negative trends, including a sharp rise in the number of cocaine laboratories seized, the GOB's inability to track the rising number of small aircraft used to transport drugs to neighboring countries, the increasing presence of foreign drug cartels, and increased coca cultivation. Despite positive interdiction and eradication statistics (septel), local contacts believe these trends will worsen without immediate GOB attention. GOB officials recognize the problems, and the overwhelming victory of the ruling Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party (reftel) will give President Morales additional power to shape CN policy. Still, he will face challenges in stepping up eradication and interdiction efforts, risking the anger of coca farmers, the core of his political base. This is the first in a series of NAS reports on counternarcotics trends and policy in Bolivia. End summary and comment. Proliferation Of Cocaine Laboratories ¶2. 2. The Department of Cochabamba has become a center for the production of cocaine base, according to statements made by FELCN commanders to Bolivian press. FELCN Cochabamba Director Colonel Elvin Baptista told reporters November 30 that FELCN destroyed 600 cocaine factories in Cochabamba during 2009. Baptista explained that most were found in rural areas, close to rivers or other sources of water, and used Colombian methods, which consist of grinding up coca using electric motors, and then mixing it with precursor chemicals in rigid plastic containers. ¶3. 3. FELCN director Colonel Oscar Nina said on November 12 that the Department of Santa Cruz has become a major center for crystallization (purification) of cocaine that is processed in other regions of Bolivia. He explained that FELCN had discovered 16 cocaine crystallization labs during recent operations, one of which had the capacity to produce 100 kilos per day of high purity cocaine. The cocaine is produced in Santa Cruz, and the drug is then exported to Europe and the United States through ports in Chile and Brazil, according to Nina. (Note: DEA estimates less than one percent of cocaine seized in the U.S. can be chemically traced back to Bolivia. End Note). ¶4. 4. FELCN reported that it destroyed an average of two labs per day in the Department of La Paz in 2009. El Alto, the sprawling city of mostly poor immigrants that sits on the high plain above the city of La Paz, has become a major center of lab activity. FELCN La Paz commander Colonel Fernando Amurrio reported that FELCN destroyed 133 factories in El Alto during the first 10 months of the year. Many of these labs are small Colombian-style labs hidden inside houses, making them difficult to detect. La Paz is considered a transit point where coca is converted into cocaine base paste and cocaine and then shipped to Santa Cruz or other areas of Bolivia to be exported. During a series of coordinated operations in the Department of La Paz November 20-26, FELCN seized 93 kilos of cocaine and five tons of marijuana, detained 17 people, and seized five vehicles. ¶5. 5. FELCN destroyed two large-scale cocaine factories on November 25 in the Sicaya municipality in the Department of Cochabamba. FELCN estimated that during their three months of operation the factories had produced 180 kilos of cocaine base paste, and estimated that they could have produced one ton per year if they had remained in operation. The seizures brought the total number of seized factories in the region to 12 during the month. Cochabamba and MAS deputy Edmundo Novillo noted that increasing middle class involvement in coca production and ancillary activities, in Cochabamba and Santa Cruz, will require greater GOB response. ¶6. Growing Community Involvement in Production and Trafficking ¶7. 6. The current rise in the net amount of coca grown and cocaine produced in Bolivia has deepened rural community involvement in the drug trade, according to numerous NAS contacts in FELCN and the GOB's Directorate of Coca Production (DIGPRO COCA). Contacts report that drug traffickers pay between $8,000 to $10,000 to small rural communities, to buy their cooperation in establishing cocaine factories, and then share profits with the community to retain acceptance and trust. ¶8. 7. In a November 26 operation in the indigenous community of Machak Marca de Pocona (in Cochabamba Department), FELCN destroyed 32 Colombian-style labs but was able to make only one arrest because the entire community fled when tipped off about the raid. (Note: Locals in such remote areas can often easily spot official vehicles from miles away, due to the lack of vegetation and building development. End note.) The local FELCN commander expressed his amazement to Bolivian reporters at the degree of involvement of the entire community in the production activities. CN Police Concerned About Trafficking Via Small Aircraft ¶9. 8. FELCN Director Colonel Oscar Nina told reporters November 1 that Bolivia CN forces lack the capacity to detect the high and rising number of small aircraft that transport drugs to neighboring countries. Nina explained that FELCN lacks radar or other technological equipment to confront the problem. Vice Minister of Social Defense Felipe Caceres told reporters November 9 that the GOB's "weakness" in its war against drugs was on the country's borders. Caceres noted that President Morales had instructed the Defense Minister to work on acquiring additional planes, helicopters and radars to close this gap. (Many of our Bolivian CN contacts in the Department of Santa Cruz have told us frequently that Bolivia's lack of control over its airspace results in near free rein for air trafficking. Sources tell us that 175 suspicious flights were tracked by Brazilian government mobile radar on the border between Bolivia and Brazil in a two-month period last fall.) Involvement of Foreign Drug Cartels ¶10. 9. Bolivian press reported extensively on FELCN Commander General Oscar Nina's October 28 statement that Mexican drug cartels are investing in cocaine manufacturing in Bolivia to secure sufficient supply to satisfy market demand. Nina stated that Mexicans employ Colombian drug mafias, which in turn hire local drug gangs. He also stated that Colombians have taken the place of Peruvians, who until recently dominated the Bolivian cocaine market. ¶11. ¶12. 10. The District Prosecutor's Office in Santa Cruz recently expressed concern about the presence of foreign assassins who are hired by drug traffickers to commit murders in Bolivia. Anti-corruption Special Prosecutor Alex Oswaldo Cespedes told reporters November 16 that seven people had been killed in Santa Cruz over the preceding 59 days, and that he believed foreign assassins ("sicarios") bore responsibility. Cespedes said that a major increase in drug trafficking activities in the city had made conditions ripe for the creation of drug trafficking organizations. The commander of Bolivia's Special Anti-Crime Police Force, Colonel Miguel Gonzalez, said it is too early to conclude that foreign assassins were involved. Increase in Coca Cultivation ¶13. 11. The GOB announced December 9 that coca cultivation had increased 6% in 2009 compared to the prior year, or by roughly 1,830 hectares. Vice Minister of Social Defense Felipe Caceres told NAS Director that the two main national parks have more than 2,000 hectares of illegal coca - 1,081 hectares in Isiboro-Secure and 972 hectares in Carrasco. He said the GOB knows it will have to resort to forced eradication in 2010, noting that many cocaleros do not respect the limits on cultivation set by the GOB. Coca Union Says Much Coca Circumvents Legal Markets ¶14. 12. The Yungas Coca Producers' Association (ADEPCOCA), the union formed by 30,000 coca growers from twelve provinces of Los Yungas, released a report on November 10 that stated that of the 16,127 metric tons of coca leaf grown annually in the Yungas, only 4,887 metric tons (30 percent) arrives at the legal coca market in Villa Fatima in La Paz. The destination of the remaining 11,240 metric tons is unknown, according to the report. The ADEPCOCA report also stated that of the 54,000 metric tons of coca grown nationwide each year, only 21,778 metric tons (40 percent) reaches the two legally sanctioned markets -- Villa Fatima in La Paz and Sacaba in Cochabamba. Lobbying For A New Legal Coca Marketplace ¶15. 13. Coca growers of the Munecas Province in the Department of La Paz presented to Congress a draft bill to create a new legal coca market in the city of El Alto, next to La Paz, and branches in La Paz and Cochabamba. Currently, there are two legal markets - Villa Fatima in Los Yungas and Sacaba in Cochabamba. Bolivians Polled On Views Of Coca Situation ¶16. 14. Equipos Mori conducted a November poll in Bolivia's nine departments that found: * 60% of Bolivians believe that coca cultivation has increased since Evo Morales became President; * 75% believe coca eradication should continue; * 61% believe that there should be additional government control over coca production; and * 55% believe the state should control production and commercialization of coca. ¶17. 15. Comment: It may not be surprising that many Bolivians are concerned about coca expansion and support eradication. Those directly involved in coca production are a relatively small, but influential, percentage of the overall Bolivian population. There are approximately 44,000 families in the Chapare (an average of five people per family) that are directly involved in growing coca, and 26,000 families in the Yungas (an average of four people per family). The total Bolivian population is approximately 9 million. ¶18. Creamer
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