US embassy cable - 05SANTIAGO2482

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 002482 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
JUSTICE FOR OIA, AFMLS, AND NDDS; TREASURY FOR FINCEN; DEA 
FOR OILS AND OFFICE OF DIVERSION CONTROL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR, CI 
SUBJECT: CHILE: 2005 INCSR PART I: NARCOTICS CONTROL 
 
REF: STATE 209560 
 
1. Below is "Part I: "Drugs and Chemical Control" of the 
International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) for 
Chile.  Per instructions, Part II will be sent septel. 
 
I. Summary 
 
2. While not a center of illicit narcotics production, Chile 
remains a transit country for cocaine and heroin shipments 
destined for the U.S. and Europe.  Chile also has an internal 
cocaine and marijuana consumption problem, with ecstasy 
increasing in popularity.  Chile is a source of essential 
chemicals for use in coca processing in Peru and Bolivia. 
Chile is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention. End Summary. 
 
II. Status of Country 
 
3. Transshipment of cocaine and heroin from the Andean region 
is a problem for Chile.  Cocaine hydrochloride consumption 
has increased, although cocaine base abuse is more prevalent. 
 Chilean authorities discovered some cocaine and amphetamine 
labs three years ago, but Chile is not a major source of 
refined cocaine.  Marijuana also continues to be widely used 
in Chile, a drug supplied primarily by Paraguay and a handful 
of production farms in Chile. 
 
III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2005 
 
4. Policy Initiatives.  President Lagos is expected to sign 
later this month chemical control regulations, which will 
regulate the internal sale, transportation, and distribution 
of controlled chemicals.  Chile is currently the only country 
in Latin America without specific regulation to address this 
issue. 
 
5. The Chilean Congress continues to work on a comprehensive 
revision of Chile's 1995 drug laws, a project pending since 
1999.  In an effort to aid efforts to combat money 
laundering, the Financial Intelligence Unit was created in 
June 2004.  The National Drug Control Commission (CONACE) 
develops and coordinates the National Drug Control Strategy; 
the current strategy includes the years 2003-2008.  CONACE 
also coordinates all demand reduction programs. 
 
6. Accomplishments.  In March 2005, the Chilean NGO "Citizen 
Peace Foundation," in coordination with Embassy Santiago, 
launched the country's first pilot program for drug courts in 
the port town of Valparaiso.  Following this successful 
launch, the pilot program will be expanded to Santiago in 
2006.  In June 2005, eight Chilean officials traveled to 
Florida to observe the functioning of U.S. drug courts, and 
to participate in the annual U.S. conference of drug courts. 
Participants returned to Chile as strong proponents of 
incorporating drug courts in the new judicial system as well 
as adding an alternative dispute resolution program. 
 
7. DEA Santiago and the Policia de Investigactions de Chile 
(PICH, the investigative police) hosted the 22th 
International Drug Enforcement Conference (IDEC XXII) in 
April.  DEA Administrator Karen Tandy met with President 
Ricardo Lagos and then-Minister of Interior Jose Insulza. 
Over 200 delegates from 73 countries attended.  An IDEC 
first, the conference focused on forming working groups to 
identify mutually agreed-upon regional narcotics targets and 
specifying steps to disrupt or dismantle those organizations. 
 The conference received positive media coverage from Chilean 
and international press. 
 
8. DEA Santiago invited six key members of the Chilean law 
enforcement community to the U.S. in June for an observation 
tour of various DEA-supported drug task forces operating 
along the southwest border.  The institutions represented 
included the Carabineros (uniformed police); the PICH; the 
National and Regional Public Ministry Offices; the Chilean 
Customs Service; and DIRECTEMAR (Coast Guard).  The purpose 
of the visit was to expose Chilean officials to the workings 
of interagency task forces dedicated to combating narcotics 
trafficking, with an eye toward implementing a similar task 
force in Chile in the future. 
 
9. In August 2005, INL-funded U.S. speaker Calvina Fay, 
Director of the Drug Free America Foundation, provided 
keynote remarks at a seminar on the impact of drug 
legalization,  co-organized by the Network of Chilean Drug 
Prevention NGOs (CHIPRED), PRIDE-Chile and the Drug 
Commission of the National Association of Chilean 
Municipalities.  More than 200 drug prevention experts 
attended. 
 
10. In September 2005, the Chilean court system allowed the 
release of the results of Embassy Santiago's sponsored 
Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) test.  Developed by the 
Citizen Peace Foundation and the National Institute of Drug 
Abuse, the test revealed that 73% of arrestees tested were 
using drugs at the time of their arrest in Santiago.  This 
test was the first scientific test in Chile showing a link 
between drug use and crime.  Until its release, Chilean 
officials traditionally believed that drugs did not play a 
significant role in crime. 
 
11. Chile completed its multi-year, nationwide criminal 
justice reform project in June 2005.  Chile's 12 regions, 
plus the Santiago Metropolitan region (itself comprising 40% 
of the population), have adopted the new adversarial judicial 
system.  The new system is based on oral trials rather than 
document-based legal proceedings.  Initial feedback suggests 
a wider trust in the new system, and cases are reportedly 
being resolved faster than before.  On going challenges 
include training judges, prosecutors and law enforcement on 
evidence collection and analysis, presentation in court and 
court administration (case loads, budget, scheduling, etc.). 
 
12.  Law Enforcement Efforts.  Chilean authorities are 
successfully interdicting narcotics transiting through and 
destined for Chile.  As a result of increased U.S. support 
for interdiction efforts in the Andean source nations, 
narcotics traffickers are using Chile as a transshipment 
point for cocaine and heroin with more frequency. Traffickers 
assume Chile's clean reputation with authorities in the U.S. 
and Europe means that vessels and aircraft originating from 
Chile are less closely scrutinized. 
 
13.  In August, the PICH with assistance from DEA Santiago, 
La Paz and Asuncion, completed an International Controlled 
Delivery (ICD) of two tons of Paraguayan marijuana.  This 
resulted in the arrest of 14 individuals in Chile and 13 
co-conspirators, along with an 800-kilogram marijuana seizure 
in Paraguay.  This seizure was the largest marijuana seizure 
in Chilean history, and the first ICD of its kind in the 
region.  This case marked the first ICD involving Paraguay 
and Bolivia, laying the legal groundwork for future police 
techniques.  IDEC's Southern Cone Working Group and the 
regional Officer Exchange Program significantly contributed 
to the successful resolution of this case. 
 
14.  In 2005, Chilean authorities seized 2777 kilograms of 
cocaine hydrochloride, 2173 kilograms of cocaine, 5.4 
kilograms of heroin, 5846 kilograms of marijuana, and 122,740 
marijuana plants.  Law enforcement agencies arrested 12,878 
persons for drug-related offenses, an increase from 9400 in 
2004.  Chilean authorities are also addressing the domestic 
distribution sources of cocaine, marijuana, and ecstasy. 
 
15.  Corruption.  Narcotics-related corruption among police 
officers and other government officials is not a major 
problem in Chile.  The government actively discourages 
illicit production and distribution of narcotic and 
psychotropic drugs and the laundering of proceeds from 
illegal drug transactions.  No current Chilean senior 
officials have been accused of engaging in such activities. 
The high-profile and on going scandals related to Pinochet's 
activities provide an example of the gravity and attention 
that Chile attaches to corrupt behavior by former or current 
government officials.  Transparency International's Annual 
Corruption Perception Index consistently ranks Chile within 
the top 20 least corrupt countries in the world. 
 
16. Agreements and Treaties.  Efforts are currently slow to 
update the U.S.-Chile Extradition Treaty signed in 1900, 
under which no Chilean citizen has ever been extradited to 
the U.S.  In late 2002, Chile expressed interest in updating 
the current treaty, and exploratory meetings with discussions 
of draft language have taken place.  The U.S. and Chile do 
not have a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT).  Chile is 
party to the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption. 
 
17. The September 2002 Letter of Agreement between Chile and 
the U.S. remains the most recent accord for cooperation and 
mutual assistance in narcotics-related matters.  U.S. 
assistance programs are implemented under this agreement. 
Although the GOC and the DEA signed an agreement in 1995 to 
create a Special Investigative Unit (SIU) within the 
Carabineros, no SIU currently operated in Chile.  Due to the 
low level of corruption and the high level of professionalism 
in the ranks of Chilean law enforcement, the U.S. does not 
see a pressing need for an SIU.  Chile has bilateral 
narcotics cooperation agreements in force with Argentina, 
Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, 
Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, 
Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Uruguay and Venezuela. 
 
18. Cultivation/Production.  There is no known major 
cultivation or production of drugs in Chile, and the 
Department does not identify Chile as a "major" drug-transit 
country.  Very small amounts of marijuana are cultivated in 
Chile to meet domestic demand. 
 
19. Drug Flow/Transit. Increasing amounts of drugs are 
transshipped from Andean source countries through Chile, 
destined for the U.S. and Europe.  Chile's extensive and 
modern transportation system make it attractive to narcotics 
traffickers.  Maritime and land route  trafficking have 
increased; the most recent trend is to traffic drugs via 
Chile's road system and out of the country via maritime 
routes.  The Santiago International Airport is also used to 
transit heroin to the U.S. and Europe.  Most narcotics arrive 
by land routes from Peru and Bolivia, but some enter through 
Argentina.  The efforts of Chilean authorities are hampered 
by treaty provisions allowing cargo originating in Bolivia 
and Peru to transit Chile without inspection to the ports of 
Arica and Antofagasta. 
 
20. No labs producing synthetic drugs have been found in 
Chile to date.  Ecstasy enters the country primarily in small 
amounts via couriers traveling by air. 
 
21. Demand Reduction Programs.  The Chilean government has 
expressed concern about domestic drug use.  The most recent 
study, completed in 2002 and released by CONACE in July 2003, 
demonstrates that the existing treatment infrastructure in 
Chile is insufficient.  According to the survey, 5.7 percent 
of Chileans used drugs in 2002, a slight decrease from 6.3 
percent recorded in 2000.  Prevalence of marijuana dropped 
from 5.8 percent in 2000 to 5.2 percent in 2002, although 
current information indicates marijuana use may be 
significantly higher than the numbers suggest.  The report 
also states the use of cocaine base fell from 0.7 percent to 
0.5 percent, but use of refined cocaine rose slightly from 
1.5 percent to 1.6 percent.  Significant anecdotal evidence 
suggests an increase in use of both types of cocaine.  The 
2002 survey also found that 22.9 percent of respondents had 
used illegal drugs at least once in their lives.  CONACE 
continues to work with NGOs, community organizations, and 
schools to develop demand reduction programs. 
 
IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs 
 
22. U.S. Policy Initiatives. U.S. support to Chile in 2003 
reinforced ongoing priorities in five areas: 1) training for 
prosecutors, police, judges, and public defenders in their 
roles in the new criminal justice system; 2) demand 
reduction; 3) enhanced police investigation capabilities; 4) 
police intelligence capability; and 5) money laundering. 
 
23. Bilateral Cooperation.  During 2005, the USG pursued 
numerous initiatives based on the above priorities.  Examples 
include: 1) a seminar on Intellectual Property Rights 
targeted at judges; 2) a drug court pilot program in 
Valparaiso; 3) a UN-funded trip of eight officials to Florida 
for the annual drug court conference; 4) a DEA-sponsored 
visit to observe and evaluate counter-narcotics task forces 
in action; 5) a DOJ-funded course on trafficking in persons 
for prosecutors, law enforcement and government officials; 6) 
published results of a public affairs section grant to 
Fundacion Paz Ciudadana to implement ADAM (Arrestee Drug 
Abuse Monitoring), showing the link between crime and drugs; 
7) Drug Free America participation in a Chilean seminar on 
the impact of drug legalization; and 8) continued discussions 
towards updating the 1900 U.S./Chile extradition treaty. 
 
24. The Road Ahead.  In 2006, Embassy Santiago will continue 
to support Chilean efforts to combat the narcotics-related 
problems listed above.  The U.S. plans to continue 
capacity-building assistance to the on going criminal justice 
system reform.  Efforts to enhance the counter-narcotics 
capabilities of both the Carabineros and the Investigations 
Police pursuant to the Letter of Agreement will also 
continue. 
KELLY