CABINET INSIDER AMBIVALENT ABOUT PROSECUTING DRUG

C O N F I D E N T I A L GEORGETOWN 001329 SIPDIS SIPDIS CARACAS FOR LEGATT PORT OF SPAIN ALSO FOR DEA AND LEGATT JUSTICE FOR OPDAT - RLIPMAN SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/20/2015 TAGS: SNAR EFIN PGOV PREL KCRM GY SUBJECT: CABINET INSIDER AMBIVALENT ABOUT PROSECUTING DRUG LORDS Classified By: Political Officer Benjamin Canavan For reason 1.4(d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. Ambassador met with Head of Presidential Secretariat Roger Luncheon on December 16 to discuss DEA SIPDIS plans in Guyana (reported septel). Luncheon's comments during the meeting about how to fight the drug trade in Guyana, such as his stated preference for sanctioning rather than prosecuting drug traffickers, are cause for some concern. END SUMMARY. Sanctions, Not Prosecutions, to Fight Drug Trade -------------- --- ¶2. (C) Ambassador, DCM, and PolOff met with Head of Presidential Secretariat Roger Luncheon on December 16. During the meeting, Ambassador reiterated the need for concerted cooperation among Guyana's law enforcement agencies to fight drug trafficking, especially since the traffickers often appear to be better coordinated than the authorities. Ambassador acknowledged that Luncheon and President Jagdeo are concerned about the seizures of drugs emanating from Guyana. Luncheon responded in detail with his opinion on how Guyana ought to fight the drug trade. ¶3. (C) Luncheon said that everyone knows who is trafficking drugs and laundering money, but Guyana lacks "the final step in getting quality information that can be used to finish prosecutions successfully". Ambassador said that the U.S. could help in this area by providing legal assistance and noted that it may be possible to obtain indictments in the U.S. in cases where it can be demonstrated that drug shipments are destined for the U.S. Luncheon said that he is unconvinced about the benefits of legal assistance. Instead, he would prefer to tighten up bank supervision to expose money launderers. Luncheon said that he favors "sanctions other than prosecution" to instill in narco-criminals the fear of losing business rather than fear of prosecution. Luncheon reasoned that this environment would force money launderers to move their ill-gotten gains out of the banks and through other channels with a higher risk of detection. He believes this method of public shaming would be more effective in fighting the drug trade than trying to prosecute drug smuggling cases. Ambassador reminded Luncheon that the U.S. government is working closely with Guyana's Financial Intelligence Unit to crack down on money laundering. ¶4. (C) COMMENT. Luncheon's opinion that prosecuting drug traffickers is not a viable policy objective is disturbing given the serious nature of the narco-trafficking problem in Guyana. And while bank supervision does need to be tightened considerably, that is unlikely to have significant effect given that Guyana narco-traffickers are well invested in money-exchange "cambios", the timber and construction industries, retail shops, and other cash businesses that provide easy mechanisms to launder dirty money. END COMMENT. BULLEN