US embassy cable - 05LIMA2546

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 LIMA 002546 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR 
SUBJECT:  FY 2006 Narcotics Certification for Peru 
 
REF:  SECSTATE 94578 
 
1.   Peru has cooperated fully in the bilateral drug program 
with the United States.  This report is based on the 
benchmarks. 
 
2. Coca reduction - The goal is to reduce the amount of coca 
for illicit uses under cultivation through eradication of 
illegal coca to 27,800 hectares as measured by the Crime and 
Narcotics Center (CNC). 
 
--  Peru eradicated over 10,500 hectares of coca in CY 2004. 
Almost 8000 were conventional eradication, while 2500 
hectares were voluntarily eradicated, for a total of 10,500. 
CNC estimated that in 2004 there were 27,500 HA of fully 
productive coca being grown in Peru.  The Government of 
Peru, using a different methodology, estimates there are 
46,000 hectares of coca, close to 10,000 hectares more than 
it recorded last year. 
 
--  In 2005, the GOP has planned and mounted aggressive 
interdiction and eradication campaigns in the Huallaga 
Valley in traditional coca cultivation zones that had 
previously been off limits because of violent resistance by 
farmers to any law enforcement presence. The PNP mounted 
extensive interdiction campaigns directed at destroyed 
cocaine base laboratories in this zone prior to initiating 
eradication teams.  Attacks against helicopters delayed the 
start of eradication until police revamped their tactics and 
inserted larger numbers of troops to protect eradicators. 
With strong backing by senior GOP officials, These new 
tactics have proven successful in the cocalero stronghold of 
Pizana. 
 
--CORAH (government eradication entity) has conducted 
eradication in communities that have refused to participate 
or failed to fulfill a commitment to voluntary eradication 
under the PDAP (Participative Alternative Development 
Program).  This effort has prompted adjacent communities 
that had not joined the PDAP to reconsider this option. 
 
--  CORAH's next major eradication effort after Pizana will 
be in the San Gaban area, Puno Department.  CORAH eradicated 
1,500 hectares of coca in San Gaban in 2004.  The effort 
this year will be to eradicate the remaining 2,000 hectares. 
We expect significant eradication productivity because the 
coca fields are denser and confined to a narrower area 
closer to our base of operations. 
 
--  The GOP set a goal of 8,000 hectares of programmed 
(forced) eradication.  At this time, it is unlikely that the 
GOP will meet this goal by December 2005.  The principal 
reason for the shortfall is delays in the Huallaga Valley 
operations because of the requirement for increased 
security. 
 
3.  Police counter-narcotics enforcement:  The goal of this 
project is to develop police operations to combat illicit 
drug trafficking and to support eradication of illegal coca 
cultivation.  Criteria for measuring progress toward this 
goal shall be the increased presence of Peruvian law 
enforcement authorities in drug-growing regions with a 
concurrent increase in the dismantling of drug trafficking 
organizations, increased arrests of drug traffickers, 
greater seizures of illegal weapons, illicit drugs, 
precursor chemicals and goods seized as a result of these 
operations.  The target shall be to increase the number of 
PNP drug police (DIRANDRO) deployed from a baseline of 569 
troops in 2004 to 969 troops in 2005. 
 
--   The PNP established two new basic training academies in 
coca growing regions in 2004.  Two hundred students 
graduated in May 2005.  They have all been assigned to the 
Peruvian drug police units operating in the coca growing 
valleys for the next three years.  Another 200 students will 
graduate in December 2005. 
 
--.  The Peruvian National Police (PNP) have seized and/or 
destroyed sizeable quantities of drugs in 2005.  The PNP 
continually conduct operations approximate to coca growing 
regions and have made a significant impact in interdiction 
and seizure of coca leaf and destruction of rustic labs and 
cocaine base laboratories pits.  They successfully 
identified and disrupted major international cocaine 
trafficking organizations responsible for maritime and air 
shipment of metric tons of cocaine to U.S., South American, 
and European markets.  In the first five months of 2005, PNP 
has seized record quantities of cocaine HCl and opium latex. 
Utilizing DEA's concept of priority targeting, U.S. Embassy 
helped DIRANDRO successfully identify and disrupt major 
international cocaine trafficking organizations responsible 
for maritime and air shipment of metric tons of cocaine to 
U.S., South American, European and Far Eastern markets. 
 
--  As of May 30, the PNP has seized approximately 5.6 
metric tons of cocaine HCl and 139 kgs of cocaine base 
through law enforcement investigative efforts.  This is 
significant in comparison to CY 2004 where cocaine base and 
cocaine HCl seizures measured at approximately 6.5 metric 
tons and 2.7 metric tons respectively.  Information from 
multiple sources, including intelligence reporting and 
recent seizures, indicates that cocaine HCl is being 
produced in greater quantities in large clandestine 
processing laboratories located in the coastal regions of 
Peru. 
 
-- The opium poppy cultivation and opium latex trafficking 
in Peru remains a concern as evidenced by seizures and 
arrests by the PNP.  Poppy cultivation and opium poppy 
trafficking continues in multi-kilogram quantities in Peru, 
as evidenced by the opium latex seizures by the PNP.  Based 
on the poor quality of latex seized to date, however, 
Peruvian producers reportedly cannot deliver a product 
suitable for heroin production.  DIRANDRO seized 573 kgs of 
opium latex in the first five months of CY2005, up from 383 
kgs in all of CY 2004.  It is unknown if these sizeable 
seizures are related to increased opium poppy cultivation in 
Peru. 
 
-- In most seizures, the suspects are low-level operators or 
transportation specialists within the organization.  Most 
suspects do not cooperate; primarily due to a cumbersome 
legal framework which limits post seizure investigations to 
15 days and does not provide any benefit or legal 
flexibility.  After the 15 days have concluded, PNP normally 
closes out the investigation as any further evidence and/or 
witnesses are not allowed in judicial proceedings related to 
that particular case.  Weak asset forfeiture legislation and 
indifference towards asset forfeiture by the Peruvian 
judicial system is why asset seizures are non-existent in 
Peru. The GOP has put Fernando Zevallos, whom the USG 
designated as a drug kingpin in 2004, on trial for narcotics 
trafficking offenses.  This judicial proceeding is ongoing. 
 
--  The PNP has eradicated 98 hectares of opium fields in 
CY2005.  The GOP has estimated there are about 1,500 
hectares of opium under cultivation.  This estimate is based 
on an extrapolation from seizures and hectares eradicated. 
No one really knows how much opium is being grown in Peru. 
The GOP and USG are cooperating to do a limited short-term 
aerial survey of suspected opium growing areas in Northern 
Peru.  So far, very little opium has been found. 
 
--  In an effort to further identify distribution points, 
identify opium drug trafficking organizations and final 
destination for the opium product, DIRANDRO has increased 
its intelligence and investigative resources to include 
joint cross-border cooperation with Peru's neighbors. 
 
-- Although drug trafficking organizations were disrupted 
through these seizures, no major traffickers were arrested 
or significant assets seized.  None of the money laundering 
cases that have been passed by the GOP's Financial 
Intelligence Unit to the Public Ministry have resulted in 
indictments. 
 
-- The Peruvian National Police proactively cooperate with 
neighboring countries and the U.S. to conduct regional 
chemical control operations.   As a result from Operation 
Six Frontiers interdiction operations in CY 2004, the PNP 
seized over 1200 metric tons of precursor chemicals. 
Separate from this regional initiative, PNP DEPCIQ has 
conducted several chemical investigations resulting in over 
3 metric tons of precursor chemicals in CY 2005. 
 
-- DIRANDRO and Peruvian Customs have established a joint 
interdiction group at the Port of Callao to review all 
export documents of containerized-freight and identify 
suspect cargo for further inspection.  Due to increased 
transportation of cocaine products to the coastal regions 
for maritime smuggling, DEA and PNP are increasing 
investigative and intelligence resources to address this 
problem. 
 
4.   Aviation support - The goal was to achieve a 10 percent 
increase in the number of counter-narcotics operations by 
the PNP annually and to maintain an operations rate of 80 
percent. 
 
--  The GOP has improved its mission planning coordination 
and actual flight hours have risen by 28 percent from 
October 2004 through April 2005 compared to the same 7-month 
period a year earlier. 
5.    Prosecutions by Public Ministry - The 2005 target was 
to train general prosecutors in key drug growing and transit 
regions to assist the special anti-drug prosecutors in 
counter-narcotics operations by the PNP. 
 
--  The GOP has provided counter-narcotics training to 146 
fiscals in 7 cities.  The next step in the process will be 
to assign them to eradication or interdiction operations 
when a special narcotics prosecutor is unavailable. 
 
6.   Policy & Institutional Development - Criteria for 
measuring progress towards this goal include the goals 
established in Peru's National Strategy for the Fight 
Against Drugs; further progress by the GOP in implementing 
its anti-money laundering regime and anti-corruption 
programs. 
 
--  In 2004 DEVIDA and the National Statistics and 
Information Institute (INEI) published a rigorous scientific 
study of traditional use of coca.   The study showed that 
8,800 tons of leaf would meet the licit demand, but that 2/3 
of that amount is by-passing the "official" marketing 
agency, ENACO.  The study establishes that 84 percent of 
coca leaf grown in Peru goes to drugs. 
 
--  Peru's progress with the G8 anti-corruption initiative 
is excellent.  The GOP was the first country to present a 
complete action plan thanks to strong Peruvian interagency 
effort.  USG is funding 2.21 million in projects in support 
of this plan.  The USG is working with Comptroller to do an 
audit and assessment of its anti-corruption functions. 
 
7.   Airports and seaports  - The target is to establish 
fully functioning Cargo Manifest Review Units (MRU) and 
canine teams in four key Peruvian seaports and at Jorge 
Chavez international airport. 
 
--  One MRU has been established at the Port of Callao.  The 
GOP and USG signed a memorandum of Understanding to 
formalize its operation in April.  Progress is being made 
towards setting up a second MRU at the Port of Paita.  In 
the coming months we will need to move ahead with 
establishing container security regimes at two other 
seaports. 
STRUBLE