US embassy cable - 05LIMA5033

UNCLAS LIMA 005033 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR INL, WHA; ONDCP FOR GETTINGS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR, PE 
SUBJECT:  San Gaban: Passing the Goal 
 
REF:  Lima 4985 
 
1.  Summary:  Sunday, November 13, the 
COCORAH/DIRANDRO/DIRAVPOL coca eradication team surpassed 
the 8000 hectare mark, the goal established by DEVIDA for 
2005, in the San Gaban area of southeastern Peru.  NAS 
Director, DEVIDA officials, and the Director of CORAH 
visited the eradication camp in Mazuko November 15 to 
congratulate personnel.  Eradication of nearly all the coca 
in San Gaban will be achieved by December 15 or before.  It 
is probable that nearly 9000 hectares of coca will have been 
eradicated by year's end.  End Summary. 
 
2.  November 15, NAS Director Susan Keogh and Narcotics 
Control Officer Fred Brems were joined by DEVIDA officials 
on an inspection visit to Mazuko, site of the eradication 
team base camp in San Gaban, near Peru's border with 
Bolivia.   CORAH's Director Col. Jose Yale and Director of 
Eradication Operations Miguel Ramos joined the group in the 
field. The group flew to a site where nearly 200 
eradicators, behind a security shield of 60 Peruvian 
National Police, were extracting coca plants.  Some of the 
plants were 8-12 years old with stems like small trees (they 
had been cut back over the years to encourage bushiness), 
making eradication a slow and difficult process.  Peasants 
("peones") with children watched emotionally as plants with 
heavy yields of seeds ready for picking were eradicated. 
Asked by a DEVIDA official how much money she received for a 
bag of coca, the woman who had been working the field - 
probably for an absentee landlord - said she did not receive 
money, but rather rice and meat for her crop from the pack- 
carrier ("mochilero") who picked up the leaf. (Comment: 
Most of the people who are growing coca in this region are 
also producing cocaine base - it may be that this woman was 
not, however.  End Comment) 
 
3.  On returning to Mazuko, the visitors were met by the 
half of the eradication team on rest standing in full 
formation.  It was obvious to the visitors that morale was 
high as the assembled CORAH workers, DIRANDRO security 
police and DIRAVPOL aviation team enthusiastically received 
messages of congratulations on reaching the goal early.  The 
8248.43 hectares of coca eradicated represents approximately 
412 million plants. 
 
4.  As of November 20, the total number of hectares 
eradicated reached 8248.43.  As the team recently 
encountered young plants in the coca fields that were 
replanted since the last eradication in late 2004, the 
eradication has picked up, from an early daily average of 
about 25 hectares in the area of old coca to nearly 40 
hectares a day, with a one day high of 55.6 hectares.  We 
estimate a total of 8800 -----hectares of coca will have 
been eradicated by December 15 when eradication stops.  It 
is hoped that nearly 9000 hectares will be reached by the 
end of the campaign year with the addition of the results of 
a small campaign in the north near Campanilla in San Martin 
that is slated to start in early Decemberthe end of November 
and will continue through the holiday period.  The next 
large-scale campaign is planned to start in San Martin 
January 6, 2006. 
 
 
5.  Comment: Statistics show that people living in the coca 
growing areas are among the poorest in Peru.  Those 
cultivating the coca are often not the owners and are 
exploited by those higher up on the narcotrafficking chain. 
DEVIDA's eradication plan for next year begins with areas of 
replanting insuch as Polvera-Pisana.  A key part of our 
effort to dissuade peasants - and the owners of the land - 
from replanting not to replant coca will involve returning 
to recently eradicated areas, perhaps coming back within as 
few as 6 months, to re-eradicate with the possibility of 
Alternative Development in areas that are on agriculturally 
viable land.   The security situation (reftel) will be a 
significant factor in these efforts. 
STRUBLE