SENDERO THREATENS ALTERNATIVE DEVELOPMENT PARTNER

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 LIMA 004985

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ASEC PE PGOV PTER SNAR AID
SUBJECT: SENDERO THREATENS ALTERNATIVE DEVELOPMENT PARTNER
COMMUNITIES

REF: LIMA 4784

Sensitive But Unclassified, Please Protect Accordingly.


1. (SBU) Summary: Sendero Luminoso (SL) remnants in the
Upper Huallaga have threatened five communities either to
reject Alternative Development (AD) or suffer the
consequences. This follows the kidnapping of AD USG
contractors on 11/6 (reftel). Post is curtailing AD
operations in the immediate area due to security concerns.
End Summary.

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SL Threats to AD Communities
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2. (SBU) According to reliable field sources of USG
contractor Chemonics, on 11/9 approximately 15 Sendero
Luminoso (SL) members dressed in black and armed with short
and medium range weapons entered the village of Hidayacu in
the Shambillo-Boqueon Valley in the Province of Padre Abad of
the Ucayali Department. Though no direct contact was
reported, residents saw them and were intimidated by the
armed presence. Subsequently, the SL column traveled to the
town of Hormiga in the same valley where they told residents
that any local or government leaders supporting the
Alternative Development (AD) personnel in eradication would
be punished. Both Hidayacu and Hormiga are graduates of the
AD Program having voluntarily eradicated their coca and
received development benefits.


3. (SBU) On 11/11, according to the Chemonics sources,
approximately 15 members of the same SL column deployed to
the villages of Rio Blanco, Rio Negro, and Shambillo Alto in
the Shambillo Valley and made similar threats to residents
regarding their support for the AD Program. Rio Blanco had
historically rejected AD, however recently welcomed the
program due to the viability of palm oil as an alternative
crop. A notorious cocalero with sizable plots in the
village, "Negro John", had even come around to accept the AD
Program.


4. (SBU) The threats in the Shambillo Valley are believed to
be by the same SL column that was involved in the Santa Rosa
de Yanajanca kidnapping of AD contractors (reftel). The
recent threats indicate that the SL members are now operating
on both sides of the Huallaga River and crossing between the
Huanuco and Ucayali departments. According to cocalero
expert Jaime Antesana, SL freely travels this corridor from
the Shambillo Valley to the Tingo Maria area.

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Changing SL Tactics
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5. (SBU) In the Upper Huallaga, evidence indicates SL is
working with cocaleros to grow coca and infiltrate and co-opt
communities. In the 11/6 Santa Rosa de Yanajanca kidnapping
incident (reftel),members of the community were involved
with SL in the abductions and questioning. The kidnapped
workers had previously made an AD presentation to the
community without incident. The community members had
invited the AD workers back to the community only to ambush
them with SL members, specifically targeting the AD Program.


6. (SBU) According to Antesana, in the Apurimac and Ene
Rivers Valley (VRAE),SL are even more integrated in
communities and into the narcotrafficking chain. (Note:
Septel will detail the situation in the VRAE, the region in
South-central Peru, separate from the Upper Huallaga, which
is the other primary area of Sendero and cocalero activity.
It is an area of intense coca cultivation where AD is
operating in 66 communities, but has had little success
beyond two districts. End Note.) Antesana said the SL
temporarily lay down their arms to work the coca fields with
the cocaleros. According to Antesana, in the VRAE SL has
moved beyond growing coca and protecting transporters, to now
processing coca paste and transporting coca and coca paste
themselves.

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GOP Response to Threats against AD Partners
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7. (SBU) The victims filed a complaint with the Peruvian
National Police (PNP) for robbery and assault, but were too
frightened to report the incident as a kidnapping by armed SL
members. Therefore, the PNP can take no action in the
kidnapping case. The 11/6 kidnapping received very little
press coverage initially and little public response from the
GOP. Only on 11/18 when Congressman Luis Iberico Nunez
President of the Defense, Internal Order, Alternative
Development, and Counternarcotics Commission expressed
concern to the press did multiple papers pick up the story.
Iberico told the press he was concerned about the muted
response by the GOP and said he would summon the Ministers of
Interior and Defense to discuss the SL activities.


8. (SBU) Unlike the forced eradication team, which is
protected by a contingent of DIRANDRO police, the
cooperative, voluntary nature of AD work precludes the AD
field team from traveling with police. Without a special
escort, a permanent, authoritative state presence is
necessary to ensure safety and order - this currently does
not exist in the area in question. (Note: When USG AD
employees travel to this area, they have a security escort.
End Note.)

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What We're Doing
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9. (SBU) Given the threats to Chemonics employees, Post has
decided to curtail operations in the disputed areas. USAID
has prohibited Chemonics staff from entering the Rio Blanco
area until further notice. Chemonics is focusing on
achieving the 2005 voluntary eradication target,
concentrating its efforts in non-conflictive areas of Ucayali
and San Martin. Chemonics has taken the following near term
security precautions: ceased all socializing and voluntary
eradication activities in the Department of Huanuco north of
Tingo Maria; halted all travel to communities in the disputed
area; restricted use of project vehicles outside of Tingo
Maria; and begun rotating staff involved in the kidnapping
incident to other offices. Chemonics is no longer looking
for AD opportunities in the disputed area.


10. (SBU) When Rio Blanco representatives heard that the AD
Program was planning to halt operations there, they contacted
CADA, the agency responsible for measuring and documenting
coca and its eradication, and assured them of their safety.
The community has decided not/not to heed the threats of the
SL and to voluntarily eradicate their coca. Over the weekend
of 11/19-20, the community voluntarily eradicated 70 hectares
and expects to eradicate 80 more hectares by 11/24. The AD
Program plans to eventually provide assistance to develop the
palm oil sector and fix a road to assist in transport of
their licit products to market.

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Comment
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11. (SBU) The kidnapping followed by the threats to important
AD community partners significantly ups the ante for
implementing our AD strategy in the area. Given the nature
of the work and the lack of police presence in the areas,
Post has little option other than to retreat our cooperative,
voluntary AD Program from these disputed areas for the time
being. These threats to the AD Program will be considered as
we finalize the 2006 AD Strategy. Post plans to follow-up
with forced eradication in the vicinity of the kidnapping
next year.


12. (SBU) At the root of the problem is a lack of state
presence in these areas creating a space for subversives to
fill. The SL remnants with a relatively weak military
presence (an estimated 150 members in the Upper Huallaga) are
making the areas unsafe. Even in areas where the SL is not
active (e.g., Polvora) the lack of a police presence permits
a general unruliness where citizens on the street are armed
and wild-west-style justice is accepted. This problem is
compounded by the lack of vocal allies other than Iberico in
defense of the AD program.


13. (SBU) The kidnapping and threats provide troubling
evidence of the intensifying links between SL and cocaleros.
Post will continue to closely monitor SL's activities to
determine if the kidnapping was a defining moment in SL's
strategy and if we can expect an escalation of the threats.
End Comment.
STRUBLE